Predictors of Response, Progression-Free Survival, and Overall Survival in Patients With Lung Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Abstract

Monoclonal antibodies that target immune checkpoint proteins, so-called immune checkpoint inhibitors, prevent tumor evasion of the immune system and are often effective in the treatment of lung cancer. Studies have revealed improved objective response rates, progression-free survival, and overall survival with immune checkpoint inhibitors when used in both first and subsequent-line settings. Unfortunately, only a subset of unselected patients with lung cancer responds to these therapies. An important area of ongoing research is to identify biomarkers that can predict which patients are most likely to derive clinical benefit. This review will discuss established and emerging biomarkers from some of the clinical trials that have demonstrated the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of both NSCLC and SCLC.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; Lung cancer; Non–small cell lung cancer; PD-L1; Small cell lung cancer; Tumor mutation burden.