PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂在膀胱癌新辅助治疗中的应用进展

膀胱癌是一种泌尿系统常见的肿瘤,单纯根治切除手术治疗的患者面临较高复发和转移风险,5年生存率为60~80%。在减少复发、转移和延长生存期的探索中,指南推荐以顺铂为基础的化疗作为标准新辅助治疗。但部分患者无法耐受化疗或对化疗不敏感,新辅助治疗应用率较低,未广泛开展。程序性死亡因子1(PD-1)和程序性死亡因子配体1(PD-L1)是重要的免疫检验点共抑制分子,通过抑制T细胞的激活和增殖通路参与肿瘤的免疫逃逸。近年来一批PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂被批准用于局晚期膀胱癌的一线、二线治疗,疗效及安全性得到证实,因此一些最新的研究探索将PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂运用于新辅助治疗。本文主要对近年来相关研究进行了回顾与总结,探讨PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂在膀胱癌新辅助治疗应用的前景和可能发展的方向。     

The evolving role of PD-L1 testing in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma

Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway improve clinical outcomes in patients with locally advanced/metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC). PD-L1 complementary or companion diagnostic assays are now available for anti–PD-1 and anti–PD-L1 antibodies and these assays enable testing at diagnosis. The role of PD-L1 testing in UC is, however, the subject of much discussion within the medical community, particularly in light of recent restrictions on recruitment of PD-L1–low patients in clinical trials of atezolizumab and pembrolizumab as first-line therapy, and the European Medicines Agency and US Food and Drug Administration limiting use of these agents as first-line therapy in cisplatin-ineligible patients to those with high PD-L1 expression. We explore the evolving evidence for PD-L1 expression testing in UC and the role of PD-L1 expression in both tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. We review clinical data on the prognostic and predictive value of PD-L1 expression in response to anti–PD-1/PD-L1 agents as first- and second-line therapy, considering issues such as the differences among complementary diagnostic assays in terms of the type of cells scored, antibodies used, and cutoff values. We consider how PD-L1 testing fits into decision-making and the potential of emerging biomarkers in UC. We conclude that, based on the scientific rationale for its use and evidence from clinical trials, PD-L1 testing provides enriched information on the patients most likely to benefit from immune checkpoint blockade and should be routinely offered to patients with metastatic UC.     

Classification of Tumor Immune Microenvironment According to Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Expression and Immune Infiltration Predicts Response to Immunotherapy Plus Chemotherapy in Advanced Patients With NSCLC

IntroductionAccording to mechanisms of adaptive immune resistance, tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) is classified into four types: (1) programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)–negative and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL)–negative (type I); (2) PD-L1–positive and TIL-positive (type II); (3) PD-L1–negative and TIL-positive (type III); and (4) PD-L1–positive and TIL-negative (type IV). However, the relationship between the TIME classification model and immunotherapy efficacy has not been validated by any large-scale randomized controlled clinical trial among patients with advanced NSCLC.MethodsOn the basis of RNA-sequencing and immunohistochemistry data from the ORIENT-11 study, we optimized the TIME classification model and evaluated its predictive value for the efficacy of immunotherapy plus chemotherapy.ResultsPD-L1 mRNA expression and immune score calculated by the ESTIMATE method were the strongest predictors for the efficacy of immunotherapy plus chemotherapy. Therefore, they were determined as the optimized definition of the TIME classification system. When compared between combination therapy and chemotherapy alone, only the type II subpopulation with high immune score and high PD-L1 mRNA expression was significantly associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) (hazard ratio = 0.12, 95% confidence interval: 0.06–0.25, p < 0.001) and overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.27, 95% confidence interval: 0.13–0.55, p < 0.001). In the combination group, the type II subpopulation had a much longer survival time, not even reaching the median PFS or overall survival, but the other three subpopulations were susceptible to having similar PFS. In the chemotherapy group, there was no marked association between survival outcomes and TIME subtypes.ConclusionsOnly patients with both high PD-L1 expression and high immune infiltration could benefit from chemotherapy plus immunotherapy in first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC. For patients lacking either PD-L1 expression or immune infiltration, chemotherapy alone might be a better treatment option to avoid unnecessary toxicities and financial burdens.     

Efficacy and Safety of First-Line Immunotherapy Combinations for Advanced NSCLC: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

IntroductionA series of randomized controlled trials have investigated different first-line immunotherapy combinations, but the optimal combination strategy is yet to be established.MethodsWe performed a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis by retrieving relevant literature from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and major international conferences. We included published and gray sources of randomized clinical trials comparing immunotherapy combinations with other treatments as first-line treatments for patients with advanced NSCLC. This study was registered in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42020210501) to ensure transparency.ResultsWe analyzed a total of 16 studies involving 8278 patients and including 10 immunotherapy combinations. For patients without programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) selection, pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy was found to be comparable with sintilimab plus chemotherapy in providing the best overall survival (OS) benefit (hazard ratio = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72–1.29). Furthermore, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab plus chemotherapy seemed to provide the best progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.36–0.55) and the best objective response rate (OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.12–0.42). Subgroup analysis by PD-L1 suggested that nivolumab plus ipilimumab plus chemotherapy was associated with the best OS in patients with PD-L1 less than 1% and that pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy was associated with the best OS in patients with PD-L1 greater than or equal to 1%. Pembrolizumab and sintilimab were associated with relatively fewer grade greater than or equal to 3 adverse events when compared with other immunotherapies combined with chemotherapy.ConclusionsOur results suggest that antiprogrammed death-1 combinations are associated with potentially higher survival outcomes than anti–PD-L1 combinations with comparable safety profiles. Moreover, pem-chemo and nivo-ipi-chemo seem to be superior first-line immunotherapy combinations for patients with advanced NSCLC with positive and negative PD-L1 expression, respectively. Although atezo-beva-chemo treatment provided the best progression-free survival and objective response rate, the addition of chemotherapy to immunotherapy would increase the toxicity, especially when antiangiogenesis drugs are simultaneously added.     

PD-1/PD-L1信号通路在子宫内膜癌中的研究进展

子宫内膜癌作为女性生殖系统三大恶性肿瘤之一,早期治疗方法包括手术、放疗、化疗和内分泌治疗。晚期患者易发生转移或复发,预后较差。近年来靶向免疫检查点治疗成为肿瘤治疗的新热点,其中程序性死亡受体1/程序性死亡配体1(PD-1/PD-L1)在临床实验中显示出了较好的疗效和耐受性,本文将对PD-1/PD-L1信号通路相关的生物学基础,作用机制,其在子宫内膜癌及肿瘤微环境中表达及临床应用进行综述。     

Pharmacodynamic separation of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) given concurrently with chemotherapy do not improve patient outcomes compared with chemotherapy alone in advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One potential explanation for this lack of benefit is a negative interaction or antagonism between chemotherapy and EGFR TKIs when delivered concomitantly. Support for this line of reasoning is provided by preclinical data demonstrating that EGFR TKIs induce primarily a cytostatic effect resulting from a G1 cell cycle arrest in cell lines with wild-type EGFR, reducing cell cycle phase-dependent activity of chemotherapy, whereas they induce apoptotic cell death in tumors with EGFR-activating mutations. Because the great majority of NSCLC tumors consist of wild-type EGFR, sequence-specific interactions of EGFR TKI/chemotherapy combinations might negatively influence the efficacy of these regimens in patients with NSCLC. Further evidence is provided by EGFR mutational analysis in patient tumor specimens from the TRIBUTE study. Herein we provide the preclinical and clinical rationale for studies examining the concept of pharmacodynamic separation as a means for overcoming hypothesized antagonism of EGFR TKIs and chemotherapy.     

程序性死亡蛋白1及其配体在结直肠癌中的临床研究现状

程序性死亡蛋白-1(Programmed cell death protein-1,PD-1)通过与程序性死亡蛋白配体-1(Programmed cell death protein ligand-1,PD-L1)相互作用进而发挥负向调节机体免疫反应机制,促使肿瘤细胞发生免疫逃逸。以PD-1/PD-L1为靶点的免疫治疗已成为肿瘤治疗的新模式。目前,手术和放化疗仍然是结直肠癌的主要治疗手段,但生存率没有明显的改善。研究显示PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂单药治疗或与放化疗和手术联合治疗在结直肠癌中取得了可观的效果,且相关的临床试验正在进行。本文阐述了PD-1/PD-L1信号通路相关的分子生物学机制及PD-L1的表达与结直肠癌放化疗和预后的关系,并介绍了PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂在结直肠癌中的临床研究进展。     

外泌体PD-L1在肿瘤免疫治疗中的研究进展

近年来,肿瘤免疫治疗取得了重大的进步,目前以程序性细胞死亡蛋白1(programmed cell death protein-1,PD-1)/程序性细胞死亡蛋白-配体1(programmed cell death protein-ligand 1,PD-L1)抑制剂为代表的新型免疫治疗临床应用如火如荼进行中,但在PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂应用中,不同患者和不同肿瘤类型之间疗效差异显著。现有研究发现外泌体PD-L1能解释这种疗效差异,主要机制是外泌体PD-L1可代替细胞PD-L1,产生抑制T细胞活化作用,同时,还可将功能性PD-L1转移到其他细胞,产生免疫抵抗或免疫耐受,影响PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂治疗结局。本文将对外泌体PD-L1与肿瘤免疫治疗的关系进行简要介绍。     

A Comprehensive Analysis of Programmed Cell Death Ligand-1 Expression With the Clone SP142 Antibody in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Background

Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) have been identified as novel targets for immunotherapy, with anti–PD-1 therapy currently the standard treatment for non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients after the failure of first-line chemotherapy treatment. The recent phase II POPLAR and phase III OAK studies showed that atezolizumab, a representative PD-L1 inhibitor, exhibited a survival benefit compared with standard therapy in patients with NSCLC.

PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂在晚期非小细胞肺癌中的治疗进展

程序性死亡受体1(programmed death 1,PD-1)抑制剂Pembrolizumab进入一线正式标志着免疫检查点抑制剂在晚期非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer,NSCLC)的治疗体系中占据了重要地位.临床试验结果证实PD-1/程序性死亡配体1(programmed death ligand 1,PD-L1)抑制剂在晚期NSCLC的一线、二线和多药耐药后治疗的疗效均要优于传统的化疗.一线使用Pembrolizumab联合化疗的客观有效率(objective response rate,ORR)最高可达80%;单药Pembrolizumab的无疾病进展时间(progression-free survival,PFS)接近1年(10.3个月),死亡风险比含铂双药化疗下降40%.单药Pembrolizumab、Nivolumab和Atezolizumab用于二线的疗效同样突出,总生存时间(overall survival,OS)可至1年左右.PD-L1的表达是PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂疗效的预测因子,在晚期NSCLC中阳性(≥1%)的比例约为60%左右,组织类型间差异不大,但是目前并无检测的金标准.     

免疫检查点抑制剂在淋巴瘤中的研究进展

肿瘤细胞利用免疫检查点通路来逃避宿主免疫系统并抑制免疫细胞功能.癌细胞表达程序性细胞死亡蛋白配体1/2(programmed death-ligand 1/2,PD-L1/PD-L2)与细胞毒性 T 细胞上存在的程序性细胞死亡蛋白 1(programmed cell death protein-1,PD-1)结合,触发...     

Immunotherapy in the First-Line Setting in Wild-Type NSCLC

Treatment algorithms in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continue to evolve as new therapeutics show positive efficacy improvements. This review article summarizes the data for the use of immunotherapy for treatment in first-line stage IV NSCLC, organized by the following four sections: single-agent immunotherapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapy, dual immunotherapy, and dual immunotherapy and chemotherapy. The results are summarized and tabulated. Finally, application of the trial data is illustrated in four clinical scenarios depending on the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression levels. Single checkpoint inhibitors have become an easy and excellent treatment in patients whose tumors have high PD-L1 expression. Adding chemotherapy to immunotherapy benefits our patients. Immunotherapy, with or without chemotherapy, is now the standard of care in the first-line setting in patients without EGFR, ALK, or ROS driver mutations.     

循环外泌体PD-L1表达水平与PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂治疗恶性肿瘤疗效的相关性研究现状

外泌体作为具有生物学功能的小囊泡,是近年肿瘤研究领域关注的热点。研究发现,肿瘤细胞分泌的外泌体表达的程序性死亡受体配体1(programmed death ligand 1,PD-L1),可在肿瘤患者外周血液中检测到,可能参与并抑制机体免疫反应。近年来,一些研究发现,外泌体PD-L1可能影响程序性死亡受体1（programmed death 1,PD-1）/PD-L1抑制剂的抑制效应。反之,亦然。应用PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂治疗,可影响外泌体PD-L1的表达水平。二者有怎样的联系和相关性？本文就循环外泌体PD-L1在不同肿瘤免疫反应及抗PD-1/PD-L1免疫治疗中的研究进展作一综述。     

Clinical evidence for the first-line treatment of advanced urothelial carcinoma: Current paradigms and emerging treatment options

BackgroundPatients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) have poor outcomes, with 5-year survival rates of <5% for those with metastatic, stage IV disease. We have reviewed current treatment paradigms and emerging treatment options for these patients.MethodsThe websites of seven national or international organizations were searched for metastatic UC treatment guidelines. Systematic literature reviews were conducted to identify evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of chemotherapy for patients with previously untreated, unresectable, stage IV UC. Searches included congress databases and articles published between 1990 and 2018. In order to align with the latest treatment paradigms in first-line advanced UC, a focused literature search was conducted to identify evidence supporting immuno-oncology (IO) agents.ResultsFor advanced UC, guidelines universally recommend cisplatin-based chemotherapy as first-line treatment for eligible patients and carboplatin-based regimens for those unfit to receive cisplatin. Despite the evaluation of a number of different cytotoxic regimens over the years, including triplet combinations, survival outcomes have not improved markedly with chemotherapy. Median overall survival with standard of care chemotherapy is ~13 months. Based on the results of single-arm, phase II studies, recent treatment guidelines have included atezolizumab (anti-PD-L1) and pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) as first-line options for cisplatin-ineligible patients whose tumors express high levels of PD-L1. However, emerging evidence from RCTs of IO agents, including both cisplatin-eligible and cisplatin-ineligible patients, suggest that survival times exceeding 20 months are possible.ConclusionsAfter having reached a plateau with chemotherapy, the treatment landscape for advanced UC is evolving. Survival outcomes for patients with advanced UC are improving with treatment modalities involving IO agents.     

Cost–Utility Analysis of Pembrolizumab Versus Chemotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer With Different PD-L1 Expression Levels

To evaluate the cost–utility of pembrolizumab versus chemotherapy as the first-line setting for metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the US health care system perspective, a Markov model was developed to compare the lifetime cost and effectiveness of pembrolizumab versus chemotherapy for untreated metastatic NSCLC, based on the clinical data derived from phase III randomized controlled trial (KEYNOTE- 042; ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02220894). Weibull distribution was fitted to simulate the parametric survival functions. Drug costs were collected from official websites, and utility values were obtained from published literature. Total costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were computed as primary output indicators. The impact of different PD-L1 expression levels on ICER was also evaluated. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the model uncertainty. Compared with chemotherapy, patients treated with pembrolizumab provided an additional 1.13, 1.01, and 0.59 QALYs in patients with PD-L1 expression levels of ≥50%, ≥20%, and ≥1%, with corresponding incremental cost of $53,784, $47,479, and $39,827, respectively. The resultant ICERs of pembrolizumab versus chemotherapy were $47,596, $47,184, and $68,061/QALY, in three expression levels of PD-L1, respectively, all of which did not exceed the WTP threshold of 180,000/QALY. Probability sensitivity analysis outcome supported that pembrolizumab exhibited evident advantage over chemotherapy to be cost-effective. One-way sensitivity analysis found that ICERs were most sensitive to utility value of pembrolizumab in progression survival state. All the adjustment of parameters did not qualitatively change the result. For treatment-naive, metastatic NSCLC patients with PD-L1+, pembrolizumab was estimated to be cost-effective compared with chemotherapy for all PD-L1 expression levels at a WTP threshold of $180,000/QALY in the context of the US health care system.     

Immunotherapy in Gastric Cancer

Immune checkpoint inhibition is a new standard of targeted therapy in the treatment of advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (GC) and is represented in various combinations with and without chemotherapy in every therapy line within clinical trials. In advanced adenocarcinoma of GC, gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJC) and esophageal cancer (EC), the combination of nivolumab and chemotherapy in first-line therapy improves overall survival (OS) in PD-L1 (programmed cell death protein 1)-positive patients with approval in Europe (PD-L1 CPS (combined positivity score) ≥ 5), USA and Taiwan (CHECKMATE-649) and pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for GEJC and EC in Europe (CPS ≥ 10) and the USA (KEYNOTE-590). Furthermore, pembrolizumab plus trastuzumab and chemotherapy show clear benefits in OS and are approved as first-line treatment of Her2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor-2)-positive tumors in the USA (KEYNOTE-811). Nivolumab demonstrates superior OS regardless of PD-L1 expression in third-line therapy with approval in Japan (ATTRACTION-02) and pembrolizumab prolonged the duration of response in PD-L1 positive patients with approval in the USA in PD-L1 CPS ≥ 1 patients (KEYNOTE-059). This review reflects the rationale and current results of phase II and III clinical trials investigating various immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-L1/1 and CTLA (anticytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen)-4 in combination with and without chemotherapy and Her2-targeted therapy in GC.     

晚期胃癌免疫检查点抑制剂治疗的临床研究进展

[摘要] 晚期胃癌治疗方法有限,预后较差。2017 年,针对程序性死亡蛋白-1（programmed cell death protein-1, PD-1）和程序性死亡配体-1（programmed death ligand-1, PD-L1）的免疫检查点抑制剂获批用于晚期胃癌治疗,提示胃癌免疫治疗时代已经到来。然而,相对于肺癌,免疫检查点抑制剂尚未获批用于胃癌一、二线治疗。目前,大量胃癌免疫治疗临床试验正在进行中,其模式还在进一步优化,包括免疫联合化疗、免疫检查点抑制剂联合其他免疫治疗及新型免疫检查点抑制剂的应用等,同时寻找合适的肿瘤标志物,筛选优势人群用于胃癌精准免疫治疗。本文着重讨论晚期胃癌免疫检查点抑制剂治疗的临床研究最新进展。     

Expression of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death 1 ligand (PD-L1) in adenocarcinomas of the gastroesophageal junction change significantly after neoadjuvant treatment

BackgroundThe effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy on the expression of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) in cancer cells and peritumoral cells are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on PD-1 and PD-L1 expression in adenocarcinomas of the gastroesophageal junction.MethodsPD-1 and PD-L1 expression in cancer cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in paired diagnostic biopsies and surgical specimens from patients with pretreated and curatively resected adenocarcinomas of the gastroesophageal junction were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.ResultsPaired tumor samples were available from 40 patients. PD-1 expression in cancer cells (p < 0.001; Exact Symmetry Test) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (p < 0.001; Exact Symmetry Test) increased significantly after neoadjuvant therapy. Furthermore, we observed a significant decrease in PD-L1 expression in cancer cells (p = 0.003) after neoadjuvant therapy was observed.ConclusionIn this study we could show that tumor-cell expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 was significantly altered in patients with adenocarcinomas of the gastroesophageal junction after receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Based on these observations, patients might profit from the combined use of cytotoxic chemotherapy and the blockade of the PD-1 axis.     

Toxicity management with combination chemotherapy and programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 inhibitor therapy in advanced lung cancer

PurposeThe combination of an anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) or anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibody with platinum-based chemotherapy can improve outcomes for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) compared with chemotherapy alone. For patients receiving these new treatment regimens, it is important that toxicities be managed effectively. A particular challenge can be determining the etiology of an event, especially when there are overlapping symptoms that can be attributed to either immunotherapy or to platinum-based chemotherapy. Here, we evaluate adverse events (AEs) reported in clinical trials of combination therapy with an anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 (anti-PD-[L]1) immunotherapy and chemotherapy to provide information on toxicity management.MethodsWe performed a systematic review of the literature focused on randomized controlled trials of anti-PD-(L)1 therapy combined with platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced/metastatic NSCLC and SCLC.ResultsEleven reports from 9 randomized studies evaluating pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and atezolizumab combined with platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced lung cancer were identified. Immune-mediated AEs and infusion reactions occurred more commonly in patients who received anti-PD-(L)1 immunotherapy with platinum-based chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone; however, there was no evidence of unexpected or unanticipated toxicity with these combinations.ConclusionCombinations of anti-PD-(L)1 immunotherapy with platinum-based chemotherapy regimens improve outcomes for patients with NSCLC and SCLC, and toxicity is generally manageable. Strategies for appropriate workup of AEs to allow clinicians to make informed decisions regarding causality and treatment modifications when appropriate are an important element of management of patients receiving an anti-PD-(L)1 agent combined with platinum-based chemotherapy.