Development and clinical applications of cancer immunotherapy against PD-1 signaling pathway

• Main Authors: Grace Wakabayashi, Yu-Ching Lee, Frank Luh, Chun-Nan Kuo, Wei-Chiao Chang, Yun Yen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2019-12-01
• Series: Journal of Biomedical Science
• Subjects: Checkpoint inhibitor; Cancer immunotherapy; PD-1 PD-L1 signaling
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12929-019-0588-8

Abstract Dramatic advances in immune therapy have emerged as a promising strategy in cancer therapeutics. In addition to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, inhibitors targeting immune-checkpoint molecules such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) demonstrate impressive clinical benefits in clinical trials. In this review, we present background information about therapies involving PD-1/PD-L1 blockade and provide an overview of current clinical trials. Furthermore, we present recent advances involving predictive biomarkers associated with positive therapeutic outcomes in cancer immunotherapy.