Immuno‐Oncology Biomarkers for Gastric and Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma: Why PD‐L1 Testing May Not Be Enough

Conclusion.PD‐L1 testing alone fails to detect patients who may benefit from ICI. Lower PD‐L1 thresholds and TML testing should be considered in future clinical trials.Implications for Practice.Pembrolizumab is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for patients with refractory gastric and gastroesophageal cancers if the tumor and adjacent tissue stain positively for the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) protein by companion diagnostic testing. Tumor mutational load, microsatellite instability (MSI), and alternative PD‐L1 testing thresholds may serve as predictive biomarkers for response to immune checkpoint inhibition, and standard PD‐L1 testing will not identify all patients who may benefit from this therapy.

Source: The Oncologist - October 12, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Benjamin A. Weinberg, Joanne Xiu, Jimmy J. Hwang, Anthony F. Shields, Mohamed E. Salem, John L. Marshall Tags: Precision Medicine, Gastrointestinal Cancer Source Type: research