Identification of responders to immune checkpoint therapy: which biomarkers have the highest value?

2019

Evasion of immune recognition by the innate and acquired immune system is a major principle of tumour cells and belongs to the hallmarks of cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitor-based cancer therapies targeting the co-inhibitory receptors CTLA-4 or PD-1 have received enormous scientific and clinical attention during the last few years, because of promising clinical results observed in the treatment of different cancer entities including melanoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. However, the enthusiasm about the effects of the immune checkpoint inhibitors is muted as only a subfraction of patients shows a stable clinical response. To predefine the patient cohorts that may benefit from im…