Emerging drugs targeting PD-1 and PD-L1: reality or hope?

Abstract

Introduction: Some tumors evade immune responses by exploiting immune checkpoint pathways and other regulatory mechanisms. Recent advances in the understanding of immune evasion strategies has given rise to development of novel immunotherapies that can restore the patient’s own immune system to respond to and eliminate cancer cells.

Areas covered: Multiple agents targeting the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) pathway, both anti-PD-1 and anti-programmed death ligand-1 (a key ligand for PD-1) compounds, are currently in active clinical development for lung cancer. Preliminary data of efficacy as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy are promising. In this review, we will summarize the immunomodulatory environment in NSCLC, we will focus on immune-checkpoint inhibitors, and the data currently available in lung cancer.

Expert opinion: The immune-mediated therapies represent an exciting new therapeutic approach, but evidences are still early in lung cancer, and more data from clinical studies are needed to optimize the clinical impact of these therapies.

Keywords::

• anti-programmed cell death protein agents
• anti-programmed death ligand-1 agents
• immune checkpoints
• nivolumab
• NSCLC