Current Status of PD-1/PD-L1 Anti-tumor Therapy and Exploration of the Mechanism of Immune-related Adverse Events

Abstract

Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors are a group of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Since May 2006, there have been 10 immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 for tumor treatment. Although PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors show promising curative effects on certain tumors, serious immune-related adverse events limited the clinical application. Therefore, it is urgent to develop new drugs with the same efficacy but fewer side effects than PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. In addition, exploring the mechanisms of immune-related adverse events provides a scientific foundation for developing personalized intervention strategies, which is equally important in the research of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. This review discusses the mechanism and immune-related adverse events of several anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies, aiming at reminding clinicians of the occurrence of related adverse events while performing anti-tumor therapy. Moreover, this review also points out the possible research direction of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the future.

Keywords

• |antineoplastic agents, immunological|programmed cell death protein 1|programmed death ligand 1|immunosuppressive agents|monoclonal antibody|adverse event