Anticancer research
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Chemotherapy is currently the standard-of-care for non-oncogene-driven advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Due to improvements in chemotherapeutic choices and supportive care, patients currently typically undergo multiple lines of chemotherapy as their disease progresses. Although treatments have improved over recent years, limited benefits are seen, especially in patients receiving later-line chemotherapy, as response rates can be low, response duration short and survival poor. ⋯ Combinatorial approaches with other immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, or targeted-agents are being explored in ongoing clinical trials, and may improve outcome in NSCLC. The emerging data not only offer the hope of a better cancer therapy but also provide evidence that changes our understanding on how the host immune system interacts with human cancer. It is therefore conceivable that agents blocking the CTLA-4/PD-1/PD-L1 axis will provide valuable additions to the growing armamentarium of targeted-agents.