Study: Key mechanisms of action differences in immune checkpoint inhibitor combination therapies for advanced melanoma

Source: Medical Xpress, December 2023

Checkpoint inhibitors that activate the immune system to target cancer cells for destruction have revolutionized the treatment landscape for patients with advanced melanoma, leading to more options and improved patient survival. Despite the approval of several immune checkpoint inhibitor regimens for melanoma, scientists do not completely understand their anticancer effects.

In a study published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, a team of researchers from the Donald A. Adam Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center of Excellence at Moffitt Cancer Center reveals differences in the mechanisms of action of two FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitor combination therapies for advanced melanoma. The study is titled “Differential requirements for CD4+ T cells in the efficacy of the anti-PD-1+LAG-3 and anti-PD-1+CTLA-4 combinations in melanoma flank and brain metastasis models."

Several types of immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved to treat advanced melanoma, including drugs that target the proteins PD-1 and PD-L1. More recently, results from clinical trials revealed that PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in combination with other immune checkpoint inhibitors that target the proteins CTLA-4 or LAG-3 result in better patient outcomes than PD-1/PD-L1 agents alone, leading to their approvals to treat advanced melanoma.