Advances in cancer immunotherapy for gastroenterological malignancy

Recent breakthrough results from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) such as an anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (anti-CTLA4) monoclonal antibody (mAb) (ipilimumab) and antiprogrammed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) mAbs (nivolumab and pembrolizumab) have paved the way to a new era of cancer immunotherapy, leading to a paradigm shift in cancer treatment.Currently, ICI has had immense clinical success resulting in sustained treatment response for a subset of cancer patients such as melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, urothelial carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, renal cell cancer, gastric cancer, and hepatocellular cancer.1,2 Drug approval authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (USA) and the Pharmaceuticals