Combined Immune Checkpoint Therapy

While CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade has proved successful in improving survival rates, many patients do not respond or develop resistance to these interventions. Researches into the combination of two different immune checkpoints as therapeutic targets have shown promise in pre-clinical and clinical studies, such as CTLA-4 and PD-1, LAG-3 and PD-1, TIM-3 and PD-1, and A2AR/PD-L1.

Combination of Immune Checkpoint Therapy with Targeted Therapy

The therapeutic possibilities for many cancers have changed due to the development of targeted therapies that inhibit oncogenic signaling pathways as well as immune-modulating therapies that unleash the patient antitumor immunity.

An increasing number of studies in recent years focus on the development of the combination therapy of immune checkpoint inhibitors with small-molecule inhibitors that target various pathways. At present, with inhibitors targeting molecules such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), PI3K and MAPK pathway, STING, TLR, and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), selected patients can experience impressive tumor responses.