How can we increase the value of clinical trials with immunotherapy?

Abstract

In the 40 years since the initial studies with interleukin-2 led to the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's creation, immunotherapy has become a crucial pillar of cancer therapy that is extending and improving countless lives worldwide. Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy has become a standard of care treatment for over 20 distinct types of cancer, and other immunotherapy approaches such as novel engineered cytokines, T-cell engagers, oncolytic viruses, personalized cancer vaccines and various cellular therapies are in active development and have already or may eventually receive regulatory approval. This commentary examines what we have learned during this remarkable four-decade drug development journey and how we can best leverage that knowledge to efficiently develop, license and apply future immunotherapy approaches.