Avelumab-a new programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitor against advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), with 1.8 million new cases diagnosed in 2012. In addition, lung cancer gives the leading figure in mortality from oncological illnesses both in the United States and worldwide.

In the last few years, a better understanding of the mechanisms by which tumor cells are able to escape the immune system and proliferate, grow and spread, has provided us with promising potential targets that may be used to attack cancers.

More specifically, all immune checkpoints modulating the immune response against cancer cells have the potential to become therapeutic targets for many tumor types.

Two of those targets are the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) (2). PD-L1, mainly expressed in tumor cells, binds to PD-1, an immune inhibitory receptor expressed by cytotoxic T cells. This interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibits T-cell activation impeding any lethal action against tumor cells. During the inflammation or during the immune response, PD-1-PD-L1 interaction is essential to prevent autoimmunity (3).

These immune checkpoints provide a gateway through which tumor cells can escape immune surveillance, proliferate and spread to distant sites...

CITA DEL ARTÍCULO  Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2017 Dec;6(Suppl 1):S35-S38. doi: 10.21037/tlcr.2017.11.01