Radiotherapy and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 combinations in lung cancer: building better translational research platforms

Abstract

Despite the unheralded success of immune checkpoint blockade in delivering durable responses for some patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the majority of patients do not respond. PD-L1 tumour expression and pre-existing tumour T-cell infiltration have been correlated with improved clinical outcomes to anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1. However, patients with tumours that are negative for PD-L1 expression can also respond to treatment. Strategies to combine other treatment modalities like radiotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors are being investigated as means of improving the response rates to PD-1/PD-L1 antibody blockade. Radiotherapy induces immunogenic changes in cancer cells, can adaptively upregulate tumour cell PD-L1 expression and can improve the efficacy of anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 therapy. How we design future clinical trials in NSCLC also depends on practical considerations of delivering these treatment combinations, such as radiotherapy dose, fractionation and field volume, as well as scheduling with immune checkpoint blockade. Here, we review reasons for resistance to anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 and how radiotherapy may be utilised in combination with these drugs to enhance their effect by building better translational research platforms.