Introduction: Despite new treatment options, the long-term prognosis of recurrent or inoperable gastric cancer remains poor. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a new class of drugs and have shown promising results in clinical trials.
Areas covered: This review focuses on recent clinical findings and development of ADCs for gastric cancer, and summarizes the relevant resistance mechanisms or future directions of ADCs.
Expert opinion: Novel HER2-ADCs have led to breakthrough results for HER2+ gastric cancer; however, several questions remain, especially in clinical settings. Translational research to elucidate ADCs' mechanisms of action or resistance will lead to more sophisticated use of ADCs and combination strategies.
Keywords: Antibody-drug conjugate; armed antibody; gastric cancer; translational research.