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. 2021 Nov 24;19(1):117.
doi: 10.1186/s12964-021-00789-w.

Immune checkpoint inhibition for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: limitations and prospects: a systematic review

Hong-Bo Li  1 , Zi-Han Yang  1 , Qing-Qu Guo  2
Affiliations

Immune checkpoint inhibition for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: limitations and prospects: a systematic review

Hong-Bo Li et al. Cell Commun Signal. .

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is an extremely malignant tumor with the lowest 5-year survival rate among all tumors. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), as the most common pathological subtype of pancreatic cancer, usually has poor therapeutic results. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can relieve failure of the tumor-killing effect of immune effector cells caused by immune checkpoints. Therefore, they have been used as a novel treatment for many solid tumors. However, PDAC is not sensitive to monotherapy with ICIs, which might be related to the inhibitory immune microenvironment of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, the way to improve the microenvironment has raised a heated discussion in recent years. Here, we elaborate on the relationship between different immune cellular components in this environment, list some current preclinical or clinical attempts to enhance the efficacy of ICIs by targeting the inhibitory tumor microenvironment of PDAC or in combination with other therapies. Such information offers a better understanding of the sophisticated tumor-microenvironment interactions, also providing insights on therapeutic guidance of PDAC targeting. Video Abstract.

Keywords: Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; Tumor microenvironment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The relationship between different cellular components in the tumor microenvironment of PDAC
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The pairing relationship between various immune checkpoints and their corresponding receptors
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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