Innovative breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy: pembrolizumab opportunities

Summary. Immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies are innovative immunotherapeutic agents in oncology with a fundamentally new mechanism of action. Innovative approach is in the philosophy of tumor immunotherapy, consisting not in the direct destruction of the tumor cells under the influence of the drug, is inevitably accompanied by a number of severe side effects, but in the removal of a key mechanism for tumor-induced immunosuppression, by which neoplasia evades immune surveillance. Pembrolizumab, humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody to a molecule PD-1, is the most perfect representative of this group antitumor immunobiological agents. Blocking killing-inhibitory receptor PD-1 on the surface of specific cytotoxic CD8+ T-lymphocytes, infiltrating tumor, pembrolizumab provides effector immune cells resistance to the immunosuppressive effects of malignant cells realized through axis PD-1/PD-L1 and PD-1/PD-L2. The drug cancels the selective tumor-induced cellular immune deficiency, allowing the immune system to implement an effective cytotoxic response against neoplasia. According to the results of clinical trials pembrolizumab can be recommended in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, not responding to ipilimumab and an inhibitor of BRAF. It is encouraging preliminary results pembrolizumab testing at non-small cell lung cancer. The success of innovative immunotherapy in oncology offer promising prospects for effective, safe and, most importantly, physiologically based treatment of human malignancies.