Immunotherapy in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers: Current Status and Updates

Abstract

Ratoe Suraya, Motoko Tachihara, Tatsuya Nagano, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Kazuyuki Kobayashi Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, JapanCorrespondence: Motoko Tachihara, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0017, Japan, Tel [phone], Fax [phone], Email [email protected]: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a major health burden, and novel therapeutic options are needed to help solve this problem. One such option is immunotherapy, which targets immune checkpoint molecules that inhibit cancer cells, decreasing immune system activation, for example, immunotherapies target PD-1, its ligand PD-L1, and CTLA-4. There have been major advances in the development of agents that inhibit these molecules, called immune checkpoint inhibitors, and several of them are already approved for usage in NSCLC patients, especially in advanced stages. In this review, the reasons why immune checkpoint inhibitors could be beneficial and the clinical results of studies using these drugs for advanced or recurrent NSCLC patients are discussed, as is the safety profile of the drugs.Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors, PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4

Keywords

• non-small cell lung cancer
• immune checkpoint inhibitors
• pd-1
• pd-l1
• ctla-4