Kohei Shitara, MD, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Japan, speaks on the use of immunotherapy as first-line treatment in gastric cancer (GC). Chemotherapy is the accepted standard of care in early line treatment but combination with immunotherapy is becoming more common. Studies have shown that immunosuppressive fractions like regulatory T-cells are associated with immunotherapy resistance, supported by an exploratory analysis by Dr Shitara and colleagues where mMDSC signatures in tumor gene expression profiles were associated with poor response to pembrolizumab treatment. Dr Shitara believes overcoming immunotherapy resistance in early-line treatment would be highly beneficial to GC patient outcomes, particularly in localized GC where patents often experience progression following second-line curative surgery. This interview was recorded at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022 in New Orleans, LA.
