Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Gastric cancer (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GC</jats:styled-content>) continues to be an important health threat as the third leading cause of cancer related death in both sexes worldwide. In a recent analysis, the mortality trends for the time period from 1980 till 2011 were significantly downward in all countries, but the declines in the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">USA</jats:styled-content>,<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"> EU</jats:styled-content> and several other major countries were of low magnitude when compared with the past. Furthermore, the relative contribution of cardia cancers compared with noncardia cancers increased among countries with higher <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GC</jats:styled-content> rates. With respect to preneoplastic changes of the gastric mucosa, a large population‐based study suggests that <jats:italic>Helicobacter pylori</jats:italic> infection and antigastric parietal cell antibodies‐mediated autoimmune response might, for the most part, be independent and follow distinct pathways rather than causally related pathways leading to chronic atrophic gastritis. A large prospective, randomized, open‐label Korean trial questioned the role of <jats:italic>H. pylori</jats:italic> eradication for the prevention of metachronous lesions after endoscopic resection of early <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GC</jats:styled-content>. A review of 1258 Japanese cases undergoing curative endoscopic submucosa dissection for early <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GC</jats:styled-content> showed that scheduled follow‐up endoscopy is mandatory for detecting metachronous lesions at an early stage, where they can be treated by endoscopic resection. Ramucirumab, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor‐2 antagonist, is the first biological treatment that provides survival benefits to patients with advanced <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GC</jats:styled-content> in progress after first‐line chemotherapy. The target agent rilotumumab is currently being evaluated in patients with advanced <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GC</jats:styled-content> overexpressing the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">HGF</jats:styled-content>/c‐<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MET</jats:styled-content> signaling pathway. In the near future, ipilimumab and nivolumab, two immunostimulatory monoclonal antibodies with antineoplastic effects, might offer new therapeutic options for patients with advanced <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GC</jats:styled-content>.</jats:p>