Immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated toxicity in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: An updated understanding of risk factors.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as programmed death-1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) antibodies, etc, have revolutionized cancer treatment strategies, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While these immunotherapy agents have achieved durable clinical benefits in a subset of NSCLC patients, they bring in a variety of immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which involve cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine and dermatologic system damage, ranging from mild to life-threatening. Thus, there is an urgent need to better understand the occurrence of irAEs and predict patients who are susceptible to those toxicities. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of what is updated about the clinical manifestations, mechanisms, predictive biomarkers and management of ICI-associated toxicity in NSCLC. In addition, this review also provides perspective directions for future research of NSCLC-related irAEs.

Therapeutic cancer vaccine therapy for acute myeloid leukemia.

Antitumor function of the immune system has been harnessed to eradicate tumor cells as cancer therapy. Therapeutic cancer vaccines aim to help immune cells recognize tumor cells, which are difficult to target owing to immune escape. Many attempts at vaccine designs have been conducted throughout the last decades. In addition, as the advanced understanding of immunosuppressive mechanisms mediated by tumor cells, combining cancer vaccines with other immune therapies seems to be more efficient for cancer treatment. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common acute leukemia in adults with poor prognosis. Evidence has shown T-cell-mediated immune responses in AML, which encourages the utility of immune therapies in AML. This review discusses cancer vaccines in AML from vaccine design as well as recent progress in vaccination combination with other immune therapies.

Lay abstract Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common acute leukemia in adults with poor prognosis. Evidence has shown that the immune system can recognize and eradicate AML cells. Immunotherapy, which aims at enhancing this antitumor function, emerges as a powerful cancer therapy. Cancer vaccine, one of the immunotherapies, helps the immune system recognize tumor cells. The treatment strategy has been explored in AML patients throughout the last decades. This review was a brief introduction of the development and design principle of cancer vaccine in AML. Moreover, we also demonstrated recent progress in vaccination combination with other immune therapies.