Immune checkpoint blockade in the treatment of malignant tumor: current statue and future strategies

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Cancer treatment has seen a paradigm shift with the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
• Programmed death-1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) are key targets of extensively used ICIs.
• PD-1/PD-L1 pathway dysregulation allows tumor cells to evade immune surveillance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the mechanism of action of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in cancer immunotherapy.
• To summarize clinical outcomes and efficacy biomarkers for PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors across various malignancies.
• To discuss predictive markers for immune-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with these therapies.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors.
• Analysis of clinical trial data regarding efficacy and biomarkers.
• Synthesis of information on mechanisms of action and predictive markers for irAEs.

Main Results:

• PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors restore T cell activity by blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction.
• Efficacy of these inhibitors is linked to biomarkers such as PD-L1 expression and tumor mutation burden (TMB).
• Identifying reliable biomarkers for efficacy and irAEs is crucial for personalized cancer immunotherapy.

Conclusions:

• PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors represent a significant advancement in cancer treatment.
• Personalized medicine approaches utilizing biomarkers are essential for optimizing immunotherapy.
• Further research into predictive biomarkers will enhance the application of ICIs in oncology.