Immunostimulation with chemotherapy in the era of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Abstract

Conventional chemotherapeutics have been developed into clinically useful agents based on their ability to preferentially kill malignant cells, generally owing to their elevated proliferation rate. Nonetheless, the clinical activity of various chemotherapies is now known to involve the stimulation of anticancer immunity either by initiating the release of immunostimulatory molecules from dying cancer cells or by mediating off-target effects on immune cell populations. Understanding the precise immunological mechanisms that underlie the efficacy of chemotherapy has the potential not only to enable the identification of superior biomarkers of response but also to accelerate the development of synergistic combination regimens that enhance the clinical effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) relative to their effectiveness as monotherapies. Indeed, accumulating evidence supports the clinical value of combining appropriately dosed chemotherapies with ICIs. In this Review, we discuss preclinical and clinical data on the immunostimulatory effects of conventional chemotherapeutics in the context of ICI-based immunotherapy.

• Authors: Lorenzo Galluzzi, Juliette Humeau, Aitziber Buqué, Laurence Zitvogel, Guido Kroemer
• Journal: Nature reviews. Clinical oncology (Nat Rev Clin Oncol) Vol. 17 Issue 12 Pg. 725-741 (12 2020) ISSN: 1759-4782 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 32760014 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Review)

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological
• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Topics

• Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Immunity (drug effects, immunology)
• Immunization (methods)
• Immunotherapy
• Neoplasms (drug therapy, immunology)