Rao Devika, Parakrama Ruwan, Augustine Titto, Liu Qiang, Goel Sanjay, Maitra Radhashree
1Montefiore Medical Center, 1695 Eastchester Road Bronx, New York, 10461 USA.
2Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave Channin 302D, Bronx, NY 10461 USA.
NPJ Precis Oncol. 2019 Feb 5;3:4. doi: 10.1038/s41698-018-0076-8. eCollection 2019.
Cancer is an important global issue with increasing incidence and mortality, placing a substantial burden on the healthcare system. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed among men and women in US. It is estimated that in 2018 there will be 319,160 new diagnosis and 160,820 deaths related to cancer of the digestive system including both genders in the United States alone. Considering limited success of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery in treatment of these cancer patients, new therapeutic avenues are under constant investigation. Therapy options have consistently moved away from typical cytotoxic chemotherapy where patients with a given type and stage of the disease were treated similarly, to an individualized approach where a tumor is defined by its specific tissue characteristics /epigenetic profile, protein expression and genetic mutations. This review takes a deeper look at the immune-biological aspects of cancers in the gastrointestinal tract (entire digestive tract extending from esophagus/stomach to rectum, including pancreatico-biliary apparatus) and discusses the different treatment modalities that are available or being developed to target the immune system for better disease outcome.
癌症是一个重要的全球性问题，其发病率和死亡率不断上升，给医疗系统带来了沉重负担。结直肠癌是美国男性和女性中第三大最常被诊断出的癌症。据估计，仅在美国，2018年就将有319,160例新诊断病例以及160,820例与消化系统癌症相关的死亡病例，涵盖了男性和女性。鉴于化疗、放疗和手术在治疗这些癌症患者方面成效有限，新的治疗途径一直在不断研究中。治疗选择已持续从典型的细胞毒性化疗（即对特定类型和阶段疾病的患者进行类似治疗）转向个体化方法，在个体化方法中，肿瘤是由其特定的组织特征/表观遗传谱、蛋白质表达和基因突变来定义的。本综述更深入地探讨了胃肠道（从食管/胃到直肠的整个消化道，包括胰胆管系统）癌症的免疫生物学方面，并讨论了为更好地治疗疾病而针对免疫系统的现有或正在开发的不同治疗方式。
