Front Line Applications and Future Directions of Immunotherapy in Small-Cell Lung Cancer

• Main Authors: Selina K. Wong, Wade T. Iams
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
• Series: Cancers
• Subjects: small-cell lung cancer; immunotherapy; immune checkpoint inhibitors
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/3/506

After being stagnant for decades, there has finally been a paradigm shift in the treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) with the emergence and application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Multiple trials of first-line ICI-chemotherapy combinations have demonstrated survival benefit compared to chemotherapy alone in patients with extensive-stage SCLC, establishing this as the new standard of care. ICIs are now being applied in the potentially curative limited-stage setting, actively being investigated as concurrent treatment with chemoradiation and as adjuvant treatment following completion of chemoradiation. This review highlights the evidence behind the practice-changing addition of ICIs in the first-line setting of extensive-stage SCLC, the potentially practice-changing immunotherapy trials that are currently underway in the limited-stage setting, and alternate immunotherapeutic strategies being studied in the treatment of SCLC.