Beyond the Standard of Care: A Review of Novel Immunotherapy Trials for the Treatment of Lung Cancer

Abstract

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States, yet traditional chemotherapy fails to provide long-term benefit for many patients. New approaches are needed to improve overall survival beyond the current standard of care. This review discusses recent clinical trials using immunotherapy techniques to treat both non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and highlights ongoing immunotherapy research efforts at our center. For NSCLC, phase II clinical trials have examined allogeneic vaccines that target either mucin 1 (MUC1), epidermal growth factor or melanoma-associated antigen 3. These vaccines are now undergoing larger phase III trials. An autologous cellular therapy directed against transforming growth factor beta-2 and a recombinant protein with antitumor properties have also shown promise in prolonging survival in NSCLC in phase II trials. The monoclonal antibodies ipilimumab, BMS-936558 (anti-PD-1), and BMS936559 (anti-PD-L1) lead to enhanced T-cell-mediated antitumor effects and have produced objective responses in early-phase clinical trials. Studies for SCLC also exist, such as a novel vaccine therapy targeting p53. Recent clinical trials in lung cancer demonstrate the potential of immunotherapeutics to increase overall survival in patients with lung cancer compared with the current standard of care.