title: Assays for predicting and monitoring responses to lung cancer immunotherapy.
abstract: Immunotherapy has become a key strategy for cancer treatment, and two immune checkpoints, namely, programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1), have recently emerged as important targets. The interaction blockade of PD-1 and PD-L1 demonstrated promising activity and antitumor efficacy in early phase clinical trials for advanced solid tumors such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many cell types in multiple tissues express PD-L1 as well as several tumor types, thereby suggesting that the ligand may play important roles in inhibiting immune responses throughout the body. Therefore, PD-L1 is a critical immunomodulating component within the lung microenvironment, but the correlation between PD-L1 expression and prognosis is controversial. More evidence is required to support the use of PD-L1 as a potential predictive biomarker. Clinical trials have measured PD-L1 in tumor tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC) with different antibodies, but the assessment of PD-L1 is not yet standardized. Some commercial antibodies lack specificity and their reproducibility has not been fully evaluated. Further studies are required to clarify the optimal IHC assay as well as to predict and monitor the immune responses of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.
authors.affiliation: 1 Pangaea Biotech, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 2 Dr. Rosell Oncology Institute, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 3 Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Teixidó
authors.affiliation: 1 Pangaea Biotech, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 2 Dr. Rosell Oncology Institute, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 3 Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain.
authors.forename: Niki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karachaliou
authors.affiliation: 1 Pangaea Biotech, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 2 Dr. Rosell Oncology Institute, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 3 Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González-Cao
authors.affiliation: 1 Pangaea Biotech, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 2 Dr. Rosell Oncology Institute, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 3 Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Morales-Espinosa
authors.affiliation: 1 Pangaea Biotech, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 2 Dr. Rosell Oncology Institute, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona 08028, Spain ; 3 Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosell
keywords: Immunotherapy; PD-1 ligand (PD-L1); antibody; lung cancer; programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)