The Importance of <i>STK11</i>/<i>LKB1</i> Assessment in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinomas

Despite the recent implementation of immunotherapy as a single treatment or in combination with chemotherapy for first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), many patients do not benefit from this regimen due to primary treatment resistance or toxicity. Consequently, there is...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Baharia Mograbi, Simon Heeke, Paul Hofman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
Series:Diagnostics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/2/196
Description
Summary:Despite the recent implementation of immunotherapy as a single treatment or in combination with chemotherapy for first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), many patients do not benefit from this regimen due to primary treatment resistance or toxicity. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop efficient biomarkers that can select patients who will benefit from immunotherapy thereby providing the appropriate treatment and avoiding toxicity. One of the biomarkers recently described for the stratification of NSCLC patients undergoing immunotherapy are mutations in <i>STK11/LKB1</i>, which are often associated with a lack of response to immunotherapy in some patients. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to describe the different cellular mechanisms associated with <i>STK11/LKB1</i> mutations, which may explain the lack of response to immunotherapy. Moreover the review addresses the co-occurrence of additional mutations that may influence the response to immunotherapy and the current clinical studies that have further explored <i>STK11/LKB1</i> as a predictive biomarker. Additionally this work includes the opportunities and limitations to look for the <i>STK11/LKB1</i> status in the therapeutic strategy for NSCLC patients.
ISSN:2075-4418