Ramulizumab in combination with paclitaxel as a second-line standard of care for GC In metastatic gastric cancer, active first- and second-line treatment options still do not meet the clinical need. To date, trastuzumab (trastuzumab) is the only targeted agent with clinically relevant activity against gastric cancer. Early results from studies of the anti-VEGFR2 monoclonal antibody ramolutumab showed that the drug alone, when used to treat patients with treated metastatic gastric cancer, significantly prolonged patient survival, although its effect is currently limited (median overall survival: 5.2 months with ramolutumab vs. 3.8 months with placebo). Recent study data demonstrate that the treatment regimen of ramolutumab combined with paclitaxel improves overall patient survival and is therefore considered a new standard second-line treatment option for patients with metastatic gastric cancer. Notably, in a phase III trial published in late 2014, patients in the ramolutumab + paclitaxel treatment group had significantly longer overall survival compared to the placebo + paclitaxel group (median: 9.6 vs. 7.4 months; HR 0.807, 95% CI 0.678C0.962; P = 0.017); in addition, ramolutumab treatment caused only a slight increase in toxic effects. Molecular typing of gastric and colorectal cancers Another important development in late 2014 was the publication of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which molecularly typed gastric adenocarcinoma into four subtypes: EpsteinCBarr virus-infected tumours (EBV-infected tumours), microsatellite instability (MSI tumours), genomically sta?ble tumours ( The EBV-infected type exhibits recurrent PIK3CA mutations, extreme DNA hypermethylation, and amplification of genes encoding JAK2, PD L1, and PD L2. The microsatellite unstable type has a high frequency of mutations compared to other types, including mutations in genes encoding proteins that target oncogenes. Genomically stable types exhibit diffuse histological variants, as well as mutations in the RhoA gene or fusions involving the Rho gene family of GTPase-activating proteins. Finally, the chromosomally unstable type is characterized by the presence of aneuploidy mutations and focal amplification of the receptor tyrosine kinase gene. The identification of molecular subtypes of gastric adenocarcinoma provides a roadmap for the stratification of patients and the development of targeted therapeutic trials, which will help to further improve the prognosis of this patient population. Similarly, in 2015, an international organization proposed a gene expression-based classification for colorectal cancer staging, classifying colorectal cancers with distinguishable features into four molecular types (CMSs): CMS1 (MSI-immune, 14%), which exhibits highly mutated, microsatellite instability and strong immune activation; and CMS2 (37%), which CMS2 (37%), characterized by epithelial tumors with signature activation of WNT and MYC signaling pathways; CMS3 (13%), characterized by epithelial tumors with marked metabolic dysfunction; and CMS4 (23%), characterized by significant activation of TGFβ signaling pathways, stromal infiltration, and angiogenesis. As with the molecular typing of gastric cancer, this molecular typing of colorectal cancer will facilitate future research into colorectal cancer and, together with the advances made in colorectal cancer treatment in 2015, will further improve the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients.