REVIEW   

Panminerva Medica 2022 March;64(1):56-71

DOI: 10.23736/S0031-0808.21.04541-9

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

A topography of immunotherapies against gastrointestinal malignancies

Anupam DHASMANA ^{1, 2, 3}, Swati DHASMANA ^{1, 2}, Sudhir KOTNALA ^{1, 2}, A ANUKRITI ⁴, Vivek K. KASHYAP ^{1, 2}, Poornima D. SHAJI ¹, Partha LASKAR ^{1, 2}, Sheema KHAN ^{1, 2}, Rinaldo PELLICANO ⁵, Sharmila FAGOONEE ⁶, Shafiul HAQUE ^{7, 8}, Murali M. YALLAPU ^{1, 2}, Subhash C. CHAUHAN ^{1, 2}, Meena JAGGI ^{1, 2} ✉

¹ School of Medicine, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, McAllen, TX, USA; ² School of Medicine, South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, McAllen, TX, USA; ³ Department of Biosciences and Cancer Research Institute, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Swami Rama Himalayan University, Dehradun, India; ⁴ School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Biosciences, Mody University, Rajasthan, India; ⁵ Unit of Gastroenterology, Molinette Hospital, Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy; ⁶ Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging (CNR), Molecular Biotechnology Center, Turin, Italy; ⁷ Research and Scientific Studies Unit, College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; ⁸ Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Görükle Campus, Nilüfer, Bursa, Turkey

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Although various approaches are implemented to improve the health condition of GI patients, none of the treatment protocols promise for eradicating cancer. However, a treatment mechanism against any kind of disease condition is already existing executing inside the human body. The ‘immune system’ is highly efficient to detect and destroy the unfavorable events of the body including tumor cells. The immune system can restrict the growth and proliferation of cancer. Cancer cells behave much smarter and adopt new mechanisms for hiding from the immune cells. Thus, cancer immunotherapy might play a decisive role to train the immune system against cancer. In this review, we have discussed the immunotherapy permitted for the treatment of GI cancers. We have discussed various methods and mechanisms, periodic development of cancer immunotherapies, approved biologicals, completed and ongoing clinical trials, role of various biopharmaceuticals, and epigenetic factors involved in GI cancer immunotherapies.

KEY WORDS: Gastrointestinal neoplasms; Neoplasms; Immunotherapy; Antineoplastic agents, immunological; Cancer vaccines; Mucins; RNA, untranslated