title: Immunotherapy: is a minor god yet in the pantheon of treatments for lung cancer?
abstract: Immunotherapy has been studied for many years in lung cancer without significant results, making the majority of oncologists quite skeptical about its possible application for non-small cell lung cancer treatment. However, the recent knowledge about immune escape and subsequent 'cancer immunoediting' has yielded the development of new strategies of cancer immunotherapy, heralding a new era of lung cancer treatment. Cancer vaccines, including both whole-cell and peptide vaccines have been tested both in early and advanced stages of non-small cell lung cancer. New immunomodulatory agents, including anti-CTLA4, anti-PD1/PDL1 monoclonal antibodies, have been investigated as monotherapy in metastatic lung cancer. To date, these treatments have shown impressive results of efficacy and tolerability in early clinical trials, leading to testing in several large, randomized Phase III trials. As these results will be confirmed, these drugs will be available in the near future, offering new exciting therapeutic options for lung cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Phase I - Early Clinical Trials Unit, Antwerp University Hospital, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650 Edegem, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rolfo
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sortino
authors.forename: Evelien
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smits
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Passiglia
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bronte
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castiglia
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Edgardo S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Annelies
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janssens
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pauwels
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Raez
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D019496:Cancer Vaccines
keywords: CIMAvax; GVAX; MAGE-A3; PD-1; PD-L1; TG4010; belagenpumatucel-L; immunotherapy; ipilimumab; non-small cell lung cancer; racotumomab; tecemotide; vaccines