Guo CX, Huang X, Xu J, Zhang XZ, Shen YN, Liang TB, Bai XL. Combined targeted therapy and immunotherapy for cancer treatment. World J Clin Cases 2021; 9(26): 7643-7652 [PMID: 34621816 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i26.7643]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xue-Li Bai, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Executive Vice President, Professor, Research Scientist, Surgeon, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 79 Qingchun Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China. shirleybai@zju.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Cheng-Xiang Guo, Xing Huang, Jian Xu, Xiao-Zhen Zhang, Yi-Nan Shen, Ting-Bo Liang, Xue-Li Bai, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Guo CX and Huang X contributed equally to this work; Guo CX and Huang X contributed to concept and design and manuscript drafting; Xu J, Zhang XZ and Shen YN collected and summarized the relevant research information; Liang TB and Bai XL contributed to the critical manuscript revision; All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Supported byThe National Key Research and Development Program of China, No. 2019YFC1316000, the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, No. 2015AA020405, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81672337; and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, No. 2020M671761.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xue-Li Bai, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Executive Vice President, Professor, Research Scientist, Surgeon, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 79 Qingchun Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China. shirleybai@zju.edu.cn
Received: June 8, 2021 Peer-review started: June 8, 2021 First decision: June 30, 2021 Revised: July 9, 2021 Accepted: July 28, 2021 Article in press: July 28, 2021 Published online: September 16, 2021 Processing time: 93 Days and 23.8 Hours
Abstract
Although targeted therapies and immunotherapies have been effective against several malignancies, the respective monotherapies are limited by low and/or short-term responses. Specific inhibitors of oncogenic signaling pathways and tumor-associated angiogenesis can activate the anti-tumor immune responses by increasing tumor antigen presentation or intratumor T cell infiltration. Additional insights into the effects and mechanisms of targeted therapies on the induction of anti-tumor immunity will facilitate development of rational and effective combination strategies that synergize rapid tumor regression and durable response. In this review, we have summarized the recent combinations of targeted therapies and immunotherapies, along with the associated clinical challenges.
Core Tip: There has been considerable interest in combining systemic and immune-related therapies for the anti-tumor treatment of cancer. Additional insights into the effects and mechanisms of targeted therapies on the induction of anti-tumor immunity will aid the development and design of effective strategies, with the synergistic potential for rapid tumor regression and a durable response. Targeting specific signaling pathways may help in overcoming the mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance. We briefly review the immunomodulatory effects of targeted therapies and immunotherapies and discuss the obstacles associated with them, which may be useful for the development of novel basic research or clinical trials.
