Immunotherapy for Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Emerging Evidence

ABSTRACT

Treatment for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) has changed little over the past few decades; available therapies have failed to extend survival in advanced disease. In recent years, immunotherapy with treatments such as interferons, TNFs, vaccines and immune checkpoint inhibitors has advanced and shown promise in the treatment of several tumor types. Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, durvalumab, tremelimumab and ulocuplumab are at the forefront of immunotherapy and have achieved approvals for certain cancer types, including melanoma (ipilimumab, nivolumab and pembrolizumab), non-SCLC (nivolumab and pembrolizumab) and renal cell carcinoma (nivolumab). Clinical trials are investigating different immunotherapies in patients with other solid and hematologic malignancies, including SCLC. We review emerging evidence supporting the use of immunotherapy in SCLC patients.

KEYWORDS:

• immune checkpoints
• immunotherapy
• SCLC
• small-cell lung cancer

Financial & competing interests disclosure

D Heigener reports personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Hoffmann-La Roche outside the submitted work. N Reinmuth reports personal fees (speakers and consulting honoraria) from Bristol-Myers Squibb during the conduct of the submitted work and personal fees (speakers and consulting honoraria) from Hoffmann-La Roche, Lilly, Novartis, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Otsuka, Amgen, Pfizer and Merck Sharp & Dohme outside the submitted work. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Professional medical writing assistance was provided by M Semaan at StemScientific and was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb.