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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2017; 38(04): 520-525
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_193_16
Review Article

Nivolumab – Pearls of Evidence

Pratishtha B Chaudhari
Department of Public Health, NMMC Hospital, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
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Abstract

Purpose: Nivolumab is one of the most extensively studied immune checkpoint inhibitors across various tumor types. In this narrative review, the current clinical efficacy and safety data of anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) nivolumab for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and renal cell cancer (RCC) are elucidated. Methods: Systematic search was done on Pubmed, Medline, Embase, Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane Central through September 2016 for controlled prospective interventional studies of nivolumab across two indications - NSCLC and RCC. There was heterogeneity at all levels of abstraction; hence, author did not plan to provide a meta-analysis, but instead, a narrative elaboration of results structured around the conceptual frameworks. Results: Checkpoint receptor PD-1 is a negative regulatory molecule expressed by activated T and B lymphocytes. Binding of PD-1 to its ligands, programmed death-ligands 1 and 2, results in the downregulation of lymphocyte activation. Nivolumab is a fully human PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor. Nivolumab inhibits the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands and promotes immune responses including antitumor immune response and antigen-specific T-cell responses to both foreign antigens as well as self-antigens. In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration granted fast track designation for nivolumab in NSCLC, RCC, and melanoma. Conclusion: The encouraging literature on nivolumab lends credibility to the promise of immune checkpoint blockade, not just in terms of its feasibility as an oncotherapeutic strategy but also as a key tool of the future in the therapeutic approaches against advanced cancers.

Keywords

Immuno-oncology - nivolumab - nonsquamous cell lung carcinoma - programmed death-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor - renal cell carcinoma


Publication History

Article published online:
04 July 2021

© 2017. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used forcommercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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