Immune Oncology Flashcards
What’re the drug classes used in immuno-oncology?
Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) inhibitor
Programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD1) inhibitor
PD-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor
What is CTLA-4?
It’s a receptor found on the T-cell surface
How does CTLA-4 exert its effects in cancer?
Competes w/ T-cell CD28 receptors for binding B7 molecules on the cancer-antigen-carrying APC > reduces immune sys activity against cancer antigens (and cancer cells by extension)
CTLA-4 inhibitor MOA
Drug blocks CTLA-4 receptor on T-cell > prevents competition b/w CTLA-4 receptor and CD28 receptor for binding of tumor antigen on APC > increased immune response against tumor
What’s PD-1?
It’s a receptor found on T-cells
What’s PD-L1?
It’s a ligand found on cancer cells
What is our goal in cancer tx wrt PD-1 and PD-L1 receptors?
We don’t want the PD-1 receptor to bind the PD-LI of cancer cells bc that would prevent the T-cell from destroying the cancer cell
PD-1 inhibitor MOA:
Block PD-1 receptor of T-cell > blocks binding of cancer PD-L1 > increases rate of tumor cell death by immune sys
PD-L1 inhibitor MOA:
Block PD-L1 ligands found on cancer cells > prevent binding to PD-1 receptors on T-cells > increase immune sys activity against cancer cells
Ipilimumab is a…
CTLA4 inhibitor
Atezolizumab is a…
PD-L1 inhibitor
Avelumab is a…
PD-L1 inhibitor
Nivolumab is a…
PD-1 inhibitor
Pembrolizumab is a…
PD-1 inhibitor
What’s unique about lung cancer pts who receive chemotx?
They feel BETTER when receiving chemotx, unlike other cancer pts who feel worse (e.g. due to vomiting, anemia, thrombocytopenia, etc.)
