ObjectiveTo summarize the mechanism of action of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitors, the application in breast cancer in recent years and the advances in the study of their bio-markers of effects. MethodRelevant literatures on PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and the study in the field of breast cancer were reviewed and summarized.ResultsIn recent years, the monotherapy of immune checkpoint inhibitors represented by PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors or in combination with other therapies had brought new hope for patients with breast cancer especially triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, only a small number of patients could benefit from breast cancer immunotherapy. The current researchers think that the efficacy of these drugs is related to PD-L1 expression in tumor tissue, tumor mutation burden (TMB), high level of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and deficient mismatch repair (dMMR).ConclusionBreast cancer can benefit from the immunotherapy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, but formulating personalized medicine model, finding biomarkers that can predict efficacy and selecting patients with breast cancer who can benefit from it for targeted therapy are the new requirements in the new era of breast cancer immunotherapy.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical value of immunotherapeutic drugs represented by programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) / programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) blockades for treatment of advanced gastric cancer. MethodThe latest literatures about the clinical studies of PD-1/PD-L1 blockades for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer were retrieved and reviewed. ResultsThe corresponding clinical trials relevant to PD-1/PD-L1 blockades had been conducted in the treatment, biomarkers, and resistance to drugs for advanced gastric cancer. The PD-1/PD-L1 blockades single drug or its in combination with chemical drugs or (and) targeted drugs for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction cancer had shown a good efficacy in some patients. The patients who benefited from PD-1/PD-L1 blockades might be a population with specific molecular characteristics, but the resistance to drugs during the therapy process affected its therapeutic effect. ConclusionFrom the progress of this review, PD-1/PD-L1 blockades bring benefits to some patients with advanced gastric cancer, but more biomarkers which can predict the therapeutic effect need to be found to optimize the drug regimen, and the resistance to drugs mechanism needs to be further studied.