Advance of synergism of immune checkpoint blockade and anti-angiogenesis in cancer treatment / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Immune checkpoint inhibitor ( ICI) activates the host' s anti-tumor immune response by blocking negative regulatory immune signals. A series of clinical trials showed that ICI could effectively induce tumor regression in a subset of advanced cancer patients. Anti-angiogenesis drugs commonly used to block tumor angiogenesis can inhibit the growth of tumors, but they cannot improve the survival of patients with limitations in application such as drug resistance. Tumor immune response is closely related to angiogenesis. In turn, tumor angiogenesis highly depends on immunosuppressive microenvironment. Recent studies have indicated that ICI resistance could be alleviated by combination therapy with anti-angiogenesis treatment, and the efficacy of combination therapy was superior to that of monotherapy. The reciprocal regulation between tumor vascular normalization and immune reprogramming forms a reinforcing loop that reconditions the tumor immune microenvironment to induce durable antitumor immunity. This review clarifies the latest understanding of ICI combined anti-angiogenesis therapy and provides ideas for subsequent research.