Novel Claudin18.2-Targeted Therapies in Gastrointestinal Tumors

Gastrointestinal (GI) tumors are a type of malignant tumor characterized by their increasing incidence and lethality. Thus, there is an urgent need to explore more peculiar treatment targets. Recently, the adhesion protein claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2) has emerged as a promising target for expanding the scope of targeted therapy for GI tumors because it facilitates the proliferation and evasion of tumor cells through mediation of PI3K-AKT and RAF-MAPK signaling pathways and tumor microenvironment. Therapies targeting CLDN18.2 have advanced considerably, prompting research into new combination regimens and modified CLDN18.2 targeted drug using nanoparticles and CAR-T-modified drugs. There is a compelling rationale to prioritize the investigation of the significance of CLDN18.2 in GI tumors. The unique expression of CLDN18.2 renders it as a promising biomarker for developing precision-guided therapeutic interventions for GI tumors.