Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Cancer Therapy Publisher Pubmed



Shiravand Y¹ ; Khodadadi F² ; Kashani SMA³ ; Hosseinifard SR⁴ ; Hosseini S⁵ ; Sadeghirad H⁶ ; Ladwa R⁷ ; Obyrne K⁷ ; Kulasinghe A⁶
Source: Current Oncology Published:2022

Abstract

The discovery of immune checkpoint proteins such as PD-1/PDL-1 and CTLA-4 represents a significant breakthrough in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Therefore, humanized monoclonal antibodies, targeting these immune checkpoint proteins have been utilized successfully in patients with metastatic melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, head and neck cancers and non-small lung cancer. The US FDA has successfully approved three different categories of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) such as PD-1 inhibitors (Nivolumab, Pembrolizumab, and Cemiplimab), PDL-1 inhibitors (Atezolimumab, Durvalumab and Avelumab), and CTLA-4 inhibitor (Ipilimumab). Unfortunately, not all patients respond favourably to these drugs, highlighting the role of biomarkers such as Tumour mutation burden (TMB), PDL-1 expression, microbiome, hypoxia, interferon-γ, and ECM in predicting responses to ICIs-based immunotherapy. The current study aims to review the literature and updates on ICIs in cancer therapy. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.