Immune checkpoint inhibitors in lung cancer: the holy grail has not yet been found…

2017

Lung cancer is rich in molecular complexities and driven by different abnormal molecular pathways. Personalised medicine has begun to bring new hope for the treatment of patients with lung cancer, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The development of molecularly targeted therapy (small molecules and monoclonal antibodies) has significantly improved outcomes in the metastatic setting for patients with NSCLC whose tumours harbour activated oncogenes such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and translocated genes like anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). In addition, immune checkpoint inhibitors have also dramatically changed the therapeutic landscape of NSCLC. In particular, m…