Predictive biomarkers of response for immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract

Immune checkpoint blockade has been a pivotal development in the management of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although durable antitumour activity and improved survival have been observed in a subset of patients, there is a need for additional predictive biomarkers to improve patient selection and avoid toxicity in potential non-responders. This review will address the use and limitations of tumour programmed death-ligand 1 expression as a predictive biomarker and review emerging biomarker strategies specifically related to NSCLC including genetic alterations (tumour mutation burden, loss and gain activated mutations), tumour-related factors (tumour microenvironment) and factors related to the host immune system. Novel approaches in biomarker detection such as peripheral blood monitoring will also be reviewed.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; Lung cancer; Microsatellite instability; NSCLC; PD-L1; Predictive biomarkers; Tumour microenvironment; Tumour mutational burden.