title: Emerging biomarkers for PD-1 pathway cancer therapy.
abstract: The field of immuno-oncology has witnessed unprecedented success in recent years, with several PD=1 and PD-L1 inhibitors obtaining US FDA registration and breakthrough drug therapy designation in multiple tumor types. Despite its clear efficacy in certain cancers, treatment with these agents carries a risk of immune-related toxicities and substantial financial burden. It is, therefore, critical to identify patients likely to benefit from such immunotherapies and develop strategies to differentiate responders from nonresponders early during treatment. Here we discuss the development of predictive and treatment response biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors. We first examine the role of PD-L1 expression, the most extensively studied predictive biomarker of response, and further discuss emerging putative predictive biomarkers. We also detail challenges faced in the development of response assessments for immunotherapeutics and propose other biomarkers that may be useful as surrogate intermediate end points of response.
authors.affiliation: Drug Development Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK.|Department of Hematology-Oncology, National University Cancer Institute of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joline Sj
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Drug Development Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK.|Department of Hematology-Oncology, National University Cancer Institute of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Raghav
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sundar
authors.affiliation: Drug Development Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chénard-Poirier
authors.affiliation: Drug Development Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Juanita
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Drug Development Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK.|Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK.
authors.forename: Timothy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Yap
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D060890:B7-H1 Antigen / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D000077594:Nivolumab; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D060890:B7-H1 Antigen; D015415:Biomarkers; D000077594:Nivolumab
keywords: PD-1; PD-L1; biomarkers; emerging therapy; immune checkpoint inhibitor; immunotherapy