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Vol.59 No.3 contents | Japanese/English |
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- INVITED REVIEW ARTICLE -
Current Status and Future Direction of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Hiroshi Kagamu11Department of Respiratory Medicine, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center, Japan
In contrast to therapies such as chemotherapy and targeted therapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting PD-1 or CTLA-4 significantly improve the durable response rate and achieve a long-term survival. While chemotherapy and targeted therapy induce tumor shrinkage and prolong the survival, they cannot overcome naturally occurring resistance mechanisms induced by the accumulation of mutations, as Goldie and Coldman predicted. ICIs restore host antitumor T cell immunity, which recognizes neoantigens and destroys cancer cells carrying a high number of mutations. PD-1 plays a central role in suppressing T cell immunity, so PD-1 blockade remains a fundamental therapy. Combination therapy with PD-1 blockade and other treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and new ICIs, to obtain synergistic effects and increase the rate of long-term survival has begun to gain traction. The identification of biomarkers underlying antitumor T cell immunity mechanisms will optimize ICI therapy.
key words: Immune checkpoint inhibitor, PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4, Lung cancer
JJLC 59 (3): 217-223, 2019
