Biomarkers and novel agents in esophago-gastric cancer: are we making progress?

Esophago-gastric cancer (EGC) provides a formidable healthcare challenge. Conventional chemotherapy provides modest survival benefit in patients with advanced disease especially in the second-line setting. The recent paradigm shift in the oncology community towards targeting growth factor pathways and the immune system using novel targeted agents has now demonstrated clinical utility in EGC, but recent trial results have highlighted the complexity of disease pathogenesis and significant challenges remain. Here, we describe the current role of targeted therapies in EGC, and their corresponding biomarkers. We aim to provide a comprehensive review of the current climate of novel agents and their biomarkers in advanced EGC.