Cure cancer on your own? What is the identity of the third-generation anti-cancer drug 'immuno-oncology'?

Types of anticancer drugs

Cytotoxic anticancer drugs, which are first-generation anticancer drugs, attack and damage cytotoxic substances and normal cells together, resulting in many major side effects such as hair loss and decreased bone marrow function.

Second-generation anticancer drugs are targeted anticancer drugs that act specifically on cancer cells, and they attack normal cells to a lesser extent than first-generation anticancer drugs. However, the disadvantage is that as time passes, cancer cells develop immunity and the therapeutic effect of the drug gradually decreases.

Third-generation immuno-oncology drugs are anti-cancer drugs that use the body's immune system, and they have fewer toxicity and resistance problems, and fewer side effects. It can be seen as an anticancer drug that overcomes the limitations of first- and second-generation anticancer drugs.

In the past, it was limited to patients who had already undergone chemotherapy several times, but in recent years, it has often been used in the early stages of chemotherapy and as an adjunctive therapy after removal surgery.

Principle of immuno-oncology drugs

Immuno-oncology drugs are 'immune checkpoint inhibitors' that strengthen T cells, which are immune cells, and cause cancer cells to attack and destroy themselves. Cancer cells produce PD-L1 as an evasion substance to continue proliferating, and when it binds with PD-1 in T cells, T cells mistake cancer cells for normal cells and stop attacking them.

Immuno-oncology drugs bind to PD-L1 in cancer cells to prevent PD-1 from binding to it first, preventing cancer cells from proliferating.

Current Status of Immuno-oncology Drug Use

In the case of stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer and squamous epithelial lung cancer, the use of immunotherapies from the early stage of cancer cells is significantly more effective than chemotherapy alone, which is the standard therapy.

Patients with stage 3 lung cancer are inoperable and usually undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this case, the recurrence rate is reduced by 31% if immunotherapy is administered at intervals of about 2 weeks for 1 year after radiotherapy. In addition, it has the effect of lengthening the recurrence period, so it is likely to become a standard treatment in the future, but more research is still needed to improve the treatment performance of immuno-oncology drugs.