International journal of clinical oncologySep 25, 2019

Using PD-1 or PD-L1 blockers together as cancer treatment

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Apr 3, 2026

Abstract

Combinations of chemotherapy and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors are now used in clinical practice for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer.

Only a limited number of patients benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for cancer.
Preclinical studies indicate that combining PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors with chemotherapy or CTLA-4 antibodies may improve treatment outcomes for advanced cancer.
Combination therapies, such as ipilimumab with nivolumab, have shown survival benefits in patients with melanoma or renal cell carcinoma.
Ongoing clinical trials are exploring ICI combination therapy against standard treatments for various tumor types.
Identifying patients who will benefit from PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy is challenging and requires new biomarkers.
Further investigation into the immune-related adverse events of ICI combination therapy is necessary to develop effective management strategies.

Simplified

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)-such as antibodies to programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), to its ligand PD-L1, or to cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4)-are an evolving treatment option for several types of cancer, but only a limited number of patients benefit from such therapy. Preclinical studies have suggested that the combination of PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors with either cytotoxic chemotherapy or antibodies to CTLA-4 is a promising treatment strategy for advanced cancer. Indeed, combinations of cytotoxic chemotherapy and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have been approved and are now used in clinical practice for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer on the basis of positive results of large-scale clinical trials. In addition, the combination of antibodies to CTLA-4 (ipilimumab) and to PD-1 (nivolumab) has been found to confer a survival benefit in patients with melanoma or renal cell carcinoma. Several ongoing clinical trials are also investigating ICI combination therapy in comparison with standard therapy for other tumor types. The identification of patients likely to achieve a sufficient benefit from PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy remains a challenge; however, with the establishment of novel complementary biomarkers being needed. Preclinical and clinical investigations of immune-related adverse events of ICI combination therapy are also warranted to establish management strategies. In this review, we summarize the current landscape of combination therapy with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus either cytotoxic chemotherapy or CTLA-4 inhibitors to clarify the benefits of and outstanding clinical issues related to such treatment.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Using PD-1 or PD-L1 blockers together as cancer treatment

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief