Immune Checkpoint Blockade: The New Frontier in Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Immune checkpoint blockers have revolutionized cancer treatment in recent years. These agents are now approved for the treatment of several malignancies, including melanoma, squamous and non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Studies have demonstrated the significant impact of immunotherapy versus standard of care on patient outcomes, including durable response and extended survival. The use of immunotherapy-based combination therapy has been shown to further extend duration of response and survival. Immunotherapies function through modulation of the immune system, which can lead to immune-mediated adverse events (imAEs). These include a range of dermatologic, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and hepatic toxicities, as well as other less common inflammatory events. ImAEs are typically low grade and manageable when identified early and treated with appropriate measures. Identifying the right patient for the right therapy will become more important as new immunotherapies and immunotherapy-based combinations are approved and costs of cancer care continue to rise.

Oral Intake of Royal Jelly Has Protective Effects Against Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor-Induced Toxicity in Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…In addition, molecularly targeted therapies are often used as neoadjuvant therapy for cytoreductive nephrectomy [5], and clinical trials of combination therapies including molecularly targeted therapeutics and other anticancer agents are currently in progress [6,7,8]. On the other hand, a major limitation of molecularly targeted therapies is the relatively high frequency of adverse events (AEs) with occasionally severe effects [9,10]. Therefore, the management of drug-induced AEs is critical for maintaining the quality of life during treatment and continuous therapy in these patients.…”

Cancer DNA vaccines: current preclinical and clinical developments and future perspectives

“…Over the last few years, immunotherapy has received increasing attention as a strategy for cancer treatment, and many different approaches are being developed to improve the clinical outcome in cancer patients [1]. The main types of immunotherapy now being used to treat cancer include (i) monoclonal antibodies against specific antigens [2], (ii) immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) to release the “breaks” of T cells [3, 4], (iii) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, using a patient’s autologous cells [5], (iv) oncolytic viruses that selectively kill cancer cells and (v) cancer vaccines [6–8]. Currently, a few immunotherapeutic treatments are commercially available, such as anti-CTLA4, anti-PD1 and anti-PD-L1, CAR T cells against acute lymphoblastic leukemia and B-cell lymphoma, among others.…”

Toxicities with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Emerging Priorities From Disproportionality Analysis of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System

“…Immunotherapy is changing the therapeutic landscape of several solid tumours. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent the cornerstone of these novel targeted approaches: they increase antitumor immunity through blockade of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen (CTLA4) and programmed cell death 1 (PD1) or its ligand (PDL1) [1,2]. Ipilimumab, the first anti-CTLA-4 drug, caused a paradigm shift in drug development of these drugs: lessons learnt with its novel response kinetics and delayed separation of Kaplan-Meier survival curves led to change primary outcomes from response-based end points (overall response rate or progression-free survival) to overall survival [3].…”