Separating or combining immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and radiotherapy in the treatment of NSCLC brain metastases

• Published in: Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology Vol. 146; no. 1; pp. 137 - 152
• Main Authors: Li, Wang, Yu, Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - administration & dosage; B7-H1 Antigen - antagonists & inhibitors; B7-H1 Antigen - immunology; Brain cancer; Brain Neoplasms - drug therapy; Brain Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Brain Neoplasms - secondary; Brain Neoplasms - therapy; Cancer Research; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - immunology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - radiotherapy; Chemoradiotherapy; CTLA-4 Antigen - antagonists & inhibitors; CTLA-4 Antigen - immunology; Disease control; Hematology; Humans; Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Immunotherapy; Internal Medicine; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - immunology; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Lung Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metastases; Metastasis; Morbidity; Neuroimaging; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; Oncology; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor - antagonists & inhibitors; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor - immunology; Radiation therapy; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Retrospective Studies; Review – Clinical Oncology; Small cell lung carcinoma; Toxicity; Immune checkpoint inhibitors; CTLA-4; Brain metastases; NSCLC; Radiotherapy; PD-1/PD-L1
• ISSN: 0171-5216; 1432-1335
• DOI: 10.1007/s00432-019-03094-9

With the advancement of imaging technology, systemic disease control rate and survival rate, the morbidity of brain metastases (BMs) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been riding on a steady upward trend (40%), but management of BMs from NSCLC remains obscure. Systemic therapy is anticipated to offer novel therapeutic avenues in the management of NSCLC BMs, and radiotherapy (RT) and immunotherapy have their own advantages. Recently, it was confirmed that immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and RT could mutually promote the efficacy in the treatment of BMs from NSCLC. In this paper, we provide a review on current understandings and practices of separating or combining ICIs and RT, which could provide a reference for the coming laboratory and clinical studies and contribute to the development of new approaches in NSCLC BMs.