[Immune Checkpoint Therapy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer]

Nivolumab is an anti-PD-1 antibody that has recently been approved in Japan, and has shown high response rates and more favorable safety profiles in 2 phase III clinical trials. Accordingly, immune checkpoint therapy has now been included as a new standard treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer. These immune checkpoints are receptors expressed on T cells that regulate the immune response. The PD-1/PD-L1 signal inhibits cytotoxic T lymphocyte proliferation and survival, induces apoptosis of infiltrative T cells, and increases the amount of regulatory T cells in the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, severe immune-related adverse event(irAE)have been observed, including enterocolitis, neuropathies, and endocrinopathies. There are different management approaches to irAEs with conventional cytotoxic drugs. This article reviews the available data regarding immune checkpoint therapy for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.