Immunotherapy and Cancer: Harnessing the Power of Diagnostic Assays - 5

Immunotherapy and Cancer | Harnessing the Power of Diagnostic Assays

Achieving the Full Potential of

Immuno-Oncology

ancer immunotherapies harness the innate power of the
human immune system by enhancing the immune system's ability to recognize, target, and eliminate cancer
cells. For the past 10 years, the fight against cancer has focused on
developing targeted and immune-based drugs for oncology. Targeted drugs are seen as preferable to radiation and chemotherapy
because of their
"Patient-selection remains one of the biggest
increased specificchallenges as new classes of immuno-oncology
ity for tumor cells,
drugs have been developed."
often resulting in
-Cindy Spittle, Ph.D., Vice President of
less severe side
Development and Scientific Affairs, MolecularMD
effects than other
drugs. Some types of immunotherapy are also designed to target
specific tumor cells (CAR-T, TCR). Other types target checkpoint
molecules that can be expressed in tumor and/or immune cells.
The specificity of these drugs to hone-in on cancer or immune
cells contributes to their overall effectiveness and attractive safety
profiles.
5

A Clinical OMICs eBook

Despite the promise, current immune-oncology drug development has its challenges. "Patient-selection remains one of the
biggest challenges as new classes of immuno-oncology drugs
have been developed," says Cindy Spittle, Ph.D., Vice President of
Development and Scientific Affairs, MolecularMD. Precise molecular tests which can pinpoint the biomarkers that indicate potential
patient response are crucial to the clinical success of an immuno-oncology candidate.

Room For Improvement
To date, there have been only a few biomarkers approved for
patient selection. These include:
* PD-L1 IHC, or immunohistochemistry testing for
PD-L1. PD-L1 is a protein found on
the surface of cancer cells that
attaches to the PD-1 receptor on
T-cells and inactivates them. The
drugs that target PD-L1 or PD-1
www.clinicalomics.com

http://www.clinicalomics.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Immunotherapy and Cancer: Harnessing the Power of Diagnostic Assays