Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40216702›Full record

ArticleGastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association2025

Low positivity rate of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b is associated with heterogeneous expression in gastric cancer.

Heonwoo Lee, Min-Hee Ryu, In-Seob Lee, Ji Yong Ahn, Jeong Hoon Lee, Hyungeun Lee, Hyung-Don Kim, Young Soo Park

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Article in Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. FGFR2 amplification and fusion identified by NGS align with FGFR2b overexpression.Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology · 2026
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Heonwoo LeeDepartment of Pathology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
Min-Hee RyuDepartment of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
In-Seob LeeDepartment of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
Ji Yong AhnDepartment of Gastroenterology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
Jeong Hoon LeeDepartment of Gastroenterology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
Hyungeun LeeDepartment of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
Hyung-Don Kim *Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
Young Soo Park *Department of Pathology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olympic-Ro 43-Gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea. youngspark@amc.seoul.kr.ORCID 0000-0001-5389-4245

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBemarituzumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b), is under evaluation in phase 3 trials of gastric cancer (GC) trials. However, data on the characteristics, prognostic significance, and heterogenous expression patterns of FGFR2b overexpression in GC remain limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics and survival outcomes of FGFR2b-positive GC, along with the expression concordance across biopsy, surgical, and metastatic specimens.

methodsThis retrospective study included 466 patients with stages I-IV GC. Biopsy-surgical and primary-metastatic specimen pairs were available for 163 and 135 patients, respectively. FGFR2b overexpression was defined as moderate-to-strong membranous and/or cytoplasmic expression in ≥ 10% of tumor cells. FGFR2 amplification was evaluated using chromogenic in situ hybridization.

resultsFGFR2b overexpression was observed in 4.1% of patients, with 14/341 surgical specimens (4.1%), 3/284 gastric biopsies (1.1%), and 4/135 metastatic specimens (3.0%). FGFR2b overexpression correlated with deeper invasion and perineural invasion in resectable GC. However, it did not influence survival outcomes in resectable or metastatic GC. Among 163 biopsy-surgical pairs, FGFR2b overexpression was observed in only one pair (0.6%). Similarly, among 135 paired primary-metastatic specimens, FGFR2b overexpression was observed in one (0.7%). FGFR2 gene amplification occurred in 16/17 (94.1%) cases with FGFR2b overexpression.

conclusionSignificant intratumoral and intrapatient heterogeneity is observed in FGFR2b overexpression. Given this variability in expression levels, a single endoscopic biopsy may not accurately assess FGFR2b overexpression. The FGFR2b positivity rate in gastric cancers was 4.1%, likely due to the substantial heterogeneity in its expression.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2Stomach NeoplasmsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRetrospective StudiesSurvival RateBiomarkers, TumorFGFR2 protein, humanReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2BiomarkerFGFR2bGastric cancerHeterogeneityTargeted therapy

Identifiers

PMID40216702

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.