Table 2 Advantages and disadvantages of gastrointestinal cancer immunotherapy strategies
From: Neoantigens and their clinical applications in human gastrointestinal cancers
Strategy | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
Immune checkpoint inhibitors | Beneficial to patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, gastric cancers, gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, pancreatic cancers, head and neck cancer, hepatobiliary cancers, colorectal cancers Amendable to current biologics (antibodies recombinant ligands, receptors) Potential to be non-cancer-type specific Potent/lasting tumor immunity | Primary or acquired resistance Severe side effects Potential for adverse immunological events Dependent on immune status of patient |
Adoptive T cell therapy | Under investigation for gastric cancer and colorectal cancer (chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy) Show clinical efficacies | On target Off-tumor toxicity |
Vaccine-based immunotherapy | Under investigation for colorectal cancer, hepatobiliary cancer, pancreatic cancer Show promise in preclinical studies The immune stimulation activity is strong Cell less production (peptide vaccines, DNA vaccine and mRNA vaccines) | Side effects Clinical benefits remain unclear |
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase inhibitor | Beneficial to patients with pancreatic cancer (indoximod) May improve the effectiveness and specificity of chemotherapies Off-target | Side effects Under investigation |
CCR2/CCL2 signaling pathway inhibitor | Beneficial to patients with pancreatic cancer | Under investigation |