AbstrAct Immunotherapy has become a key strategy for cancer treatment, and two immune checkpoints, namely, programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1), have recently emerged as important targets. hTe interaction blockade of PD-1 and PD-L1 demonstrated promising activity and antitumor effcacy in early phase clinical trials for advanced solid tumors such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many cell types in multiple tissues express PD-L1 as well as several tumor types, thereby suggesting that the ligand may play important roles in inhibiting immune responses throughout the body. hTerefore, PD-L1 is a critical immunomodulating component within the lung microenvironment, but the correlation between PD-L1 expression and prognosis is controversial. More evidence is required to support the use of PD-L1 as a potential predictive biomarker. Clinical trials have measured PD-L1 in tumor tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC) with different antibodies, but the assessment of PD-L1 is not yet standardized. Some commercial antibodies lack speciifcity and their reproducibility has not been fully evaluated. Further studies are required to clarify the optimal IHC assay as well as to predict and monitor the immune responses of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.

AbstrAct Survival rates for metastatic lung cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), are poor with 5-year survivals of less than 5%. The immune system has an intricate and complex relationship with tumorigenesis;a groundswell of research on the immune system is leading to greater understanding of how cancer progresses and presenting new ways to halt disease progress. Due to the extraordinary power of the immune system—with its capacity for memory, exquisite speciifcity and central and universal role in human biology—immunotherapy has the potential to achieve complete, long-lasting remissions and cures, with few side effects for any cancer patient, regardless of cancer type. As a result, a range of cancer therapies are under development that work by turning our own immune cells against tumors. However deeper understanding of the complexity of immunomodulation by tumors is key to the development of effective immunotherapies, especially in lung cancer.

AbstrAct Objective:Our group has previously observed that in patients with small-cell lung cancers (SCLCs), the expression of a tumor antigen, glioma big potassium (gBK) ion channel, is higher at the time of death than when the cancer is ifrst treated by surgical resection. This study aimed to determine whether this dichotomy was common in other potential lung tumor antigens by examining the same patient samples using our more extensive proifle analysis of tumor-antigen precursor protein (TAPP). We then tested the hypothesis that therapeutic intervention may inadvertently cause this increased gBK production. Methods:SCLC samples (eight surgical resections and three autopsy samples) and three control lungs were examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for 42 potential TAPPs that represent potential T-cell-mediated immunological targets. Results:Twenty-two TAPP mRNAs displayed the same profile as gBK, i.e., more mRNAs were expressed at autopsy than in their surgical counterparts. B-cyclin and mouse double minute 2, human homolog of P53-binding protein were elevated in both autopsy and surgical specimens above the normal-lung controls. When HTB119 cells were incubated with doxorubicin, gBK was strongly induced, as conifrmed by intracellular lfow cytometry with a gBK-speciifc antibody. Conclusion:Our findings suggested that more immunological targets became available as the tumor responded to chemotherapy and proceeded toward its terminal stages.