New Insights into Gastroesophageal Tumors

Dear Colleagues,

Several established biomarkers have been integrated into pre-treatment evaluation for patients with gastric and esophageal tumors to guide personalized treatment.

These biomarkers include HER2 overexpression/amplification, PD-L1 positivity, microsatellite instability, and, more recently, claudin 18.2 positivity. Several other exploratory biomarkers such as MET, FGFR2, HER2-low, EBV, and TILs have emerged as potential candidates and are currently under clinical investigation in gastroesophageal tumors.

Despite these advances, significant challenges remain in the use of biomarkers. Tissue biopsy is invasive and costly, and many testing methods still face limitations, such as the inter-observer variability in immunohistochemistry, the absence of standardized cut-off values, and the high cost for NGS. Novel analysis techniques, such as multiplex immunohistochemistry and the use of liquid biopsy, and combination therapeutic strategies with immune checkpoint inhibitors plus targeted therapies, offer potential solutions to some of these issues.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue in IJMS. Its focus is on old and new molecular biomarkers in the treatment of gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, highlighting their potential advantages and disadvantages and how challenges can be overcome via clinical research. Additional important aspects of this Special Issue include correlating biomarkers with molecular subtypes of gastroesophageal tumors and investigating the potential mechanisms of treatment resistance.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Target therapy and immunotherapy in gastric and esophageal tumors;
• Antibody drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies in gastric and esophageal tumors;
• The molecular classification of gastric cancer;
• Squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus;
• Treatment resistance in gastric and esophageal tumors;
• Liquid biopsy in gastric and esophageal tumors;
• Immunogenetics and pharmacogenomics in gastric and esophageal tumors;

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Michela Guardascione
Dr. Luisa Foltran
Guest Editors

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