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World J Gastrointest Oncol. May 15, 2026; 18(5): 116882
Published online May 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i5.116882
Published online May 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i5.116882
Advancing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive gastric cancer therapy: Toward targeted immunotherapy and antibody-drug conjugates
Jia-Ju Xu, Department of Pediatrics, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai 264000, Shandong Province, China
Chun-Xiao Ni, Department of Minimally Invasive Oncology, Tai’an City Central Hospital, Tai’an 271000, Shandong Province, China
Ping Wang, Li-Dong Qin, Jia-Ju Xu, Department of Medical Oncology, Tai’an City Central Hospital, Tai’an 271000, Shandong Province, China
Co-first authors: Jia-Ju Xu and Chun-Xiao Ni.
Author contributions: Xu JJ and Ni CX are co-first authors, the two authors made equal contributions to this work and played essential roles in the critical stages of research design, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation; Xu JJ drafted the initial manuscript; Ni CX collected, analyzed the data, and contributed to the discussion of results; Wang P and Qin LD assisted in data collection and analysis; Xu JJ (corresponding author) conceived and designed the review and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content.
AI contribution statement: No portion of the main text was AI-generated; however, we used an AI-assisted language polishing tool (Grammarly) for minor grammatical and stylistic improvements. AI tools were only used for language polishing and spelling/grammar checking, not for data analysis, interpretation, or study design.
Supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Tai’an Science and Technology Agency, No. 2019NS180.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Corresponding author: Jia-Ju Xu, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Tai’an City Central Hospital, No. 29 Longtan Road, Tai’an 271000, Shandong Province, China.
Received: November 24, 2025
Revised: January 15, 2026
Accepted: February 10, 2026
Published online: May 15, 2026
Processing time: 172 Days and 7.2 Hours
Revised: January 15, 2026
Accepted: February 10, 2026
Published online: May 15, 2026
Processing time: 172 Days and 7.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The therapeutic profile of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive gastric cancer is shifting to a paradigm where it is no longer dependent on the traditional HER2 inhibition. This change has been achieved by two im