Immunotherapy (Issue 4)

The programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) ligand, PD-L1, has become a viable target for immunotherapy in cancer, with multiple antibodies now in development.

Clinicians will soon face challenging decisions on which immunotherapies to prescribe their patients, and in what sequence or combination.

Multiple trials are ongoing in NSCLC with immunotherapy agents. As with most cancers, however, there is also a need to identify which types of patients with NSCLC might benefit the most from these new therapies.

Immunotherapy is the only alternative to chemotherapy and radiation for the treatment of advanced-stage tumors and recent research has shown a correlation between weight and the toxicity of these immunotherapies.

Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, MD, discusses adverse events associated with immunotherapies for the treatment of lung cancer.

In malignancies with limited response rates to existing radiation and/or chemotherapy, immunotherapy is being investigated as a potential adjunct, with promising results, particularly in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma.

Barbara Burtness, MD, discusses potential immunotherapy agents that may assist in the treatment of head and neck cancers.

William K. Oh, MD, discusses immunotherapies for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer.