Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a "refractory cancer" characterized by rapid growth and extensive early metastasis. About 70% of patients are already in the extensive stage at the time of diagnosis. Despite the high response rate to platinum-contained first-line chemotherapy, almost all patients subsequently experienced inevitable recurrence and had poor response to second-line treatment. The high mutation load and immunogenicity of SCLC suggest that immunotherapy may be effective for SCLC patients. Over the past few years, several clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors [mainly cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitors] in SCLC patients and demonstrated promising survival prospects. This article reviewed the clinical studies of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the first-line, maintenance and second or more line treatment of SCLC. Besides, predictive biomarkers were discussed to select suitable patients for immunotherapy effectively.
【中文题目：小细胞肺癌免疫治疗的临床研究进展】 【中文摘要：小细胞肺癌（small cell lung cancer, SCLC）是一种“顽固性癌症”，以快速生长和早期广泛转移为特征，大约70%的患者在确诊时就已经处于广泛期。尽管对一线含铂双联化疗反应率高，但是几乎所有患者随后即不可避免地复发且对二线治疗的反应较差。由于SCLC具有高肿瘤突变负荷及免疫源性，这提示免疫治疗也许对其有效。在过去的几年中，一些临床试验评估了以细胞毒性T淋巴细胞相关抗原4（cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4, CTLA-4）和程序性死亡受体1（programmed death 1, PD-1）/程序性死亡配体-1（programmed death ligand-1, PD-L1）抑制剂为主的检查点抑制剂在SCLC患者中的治疗效果，并展示了良好的生存前景。本文总结了这些试验中免疫检查点抑制剂单独或联合应用于SCLC一线治疗、维持治疗和二线或以上治疗的结果，并对其中的预测因素进行了综述以确定其临床价值。】 【中文关键词：小细胞肺癌；免疫治疗；标志物】.
Keywords: Biomarkers; Immunotherapy; Small cell lung cancer.