Immuno-oncology is a type of cancer treatment that uses the body's immune system to fight cancer. Checkpoint inhibitors are a type of immunotherapy that blocks proteins that prevent immune cells from attacking cancer cells.
PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors (such as pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and atezolizumab) and CTLA-4 inhibitors (such as ipilimumab) are among the most widely used checkpoint inhibitors. They have shown remarkable, durable responses in a variety of cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, kidney cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma.
Biomarkers such as PD-L1 expression, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) status can help predict which patients are more likely to benefit from checkpoint inhibitor therapy.