Clinical Progress in the Immunotherapy of Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Small cell lung cancer is a kind of malignant tumor with strong invasiveness and poor prognosis, and the classic therapeutic modality of the disease remains multidisciplinary and comprehensive treatment. Treatment options for small cell lung cancer have been stalled for a long time, and new opportunities have emerged in recent years due to the development and initial experience of immunotherapeutic drugs. Clinical trials of some selected immune checkpoint inhibitors have confirmed the efficacy and safety in small cell lung cancer. Based on the results of phase III clinical trials (Impower133 and CASPIAN), Atezolizumab or Durvalumab in combination with chemotherapy has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Clinical trials involving immune checkpoint inhibitors are being actively carried out and provide different perspectives for the management of small cell lung cancer. This article aimed to review the clinical progress in immunotherapy of small cell lung cancer.

Keywords

• small cell lung cancer
• immunotherapy
• clinical trials