Place actuelle de l’immunothérapie dans l’arsenal thérapeutique du cancer bronchique non à petites cellules (CBNPC) sans addictions oncogéniques

Details

Supervisors

Coulie, Pierre

Faculty

Faculté de pharmacie et des sciences biomédicales

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences pharmaceutiques

Abstract

enLung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. In Belgium, it is responsible for approximately 23% of annual cancer deaths and is the 3rd country where lung cancer has been the deadliest. For a long time, the treatment of lung cancer has been surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapies, however the 5-year survival rate remains very low. Immunotherapies, most especially immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), have made their debut in recent years and are revolutionizing the therapeutic landscape for lung cancer (especially NSCLC). ICIs, including anti-PDL-1/PD-1, act against cancer by modulating the interaction between immune cells and tumor cells. They are rapidly becoming a very promising anti-cancer therapeutic approach that produces significant anti-tumor responses with limited side effects. Since 2015, the FDA has approved more than four ICIs to target PD-1, PDL-1 and CTLA-4. However, even though the ICIs have shown evidence of efficacy, they are still limited to specific types of bronchial cancer. This limitation may be explained by a phenomenon of resistance, insufficient and heterogeneous expression of PD-1 in the tumor microenvironment. This thesis reviews past therapies and their limitations in NSCLC. Also, the role of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in the escape of cancer cells to anti-tumor immunity and how ICI counteract to this. Finally, current advances in clinical trials, the combination of older therapies with immunotherapy, the safety and future of ICIs for NSCLC.