Establishment of Immuno-oncology as a Cancer Therapy

Immuno-oncology is set to become one of the most vital cancer treatments, rising up into the realms surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and other targeted therapies.

From their study, “Pharma Focus Visual Analysis of Immuno-Oncology Development and Opportunities”, Global Data was able to reach a conclusion and has analyzed more than 4,000 clinical trials of over 800 immuno-oncology compounds that are developed for eighteen solid tumors and eight blood cancers.

One of the main points in the study is the development of a checkpoint inhibitor that targets other additional molecules. Their Senior Healthcare Analyst, Maxime Bourgognon, shared in a press release that eighteen other immuno-oncology targets, aside from the PD-(L)1 and CTLA-4, are currently being studied in Phase 1 to 3 of the clinical traits.

According to a report, most of these rising immunotherapies will most likely be combined with checkpoint inhibitors that are already present in the market. However, analysts also looked into the potential of CAR T-cell therapies to have an impact. The development of active immunotherapies was the focus of the report which also featured cell vaccines and grouping of various immuno-oncology products using anti-cancer viruses.

Nonetheless, a huge part of these developing immunotherapies are comprised by checkpoint inhibitors controlled through the common molecular targets PD-L1, PD-1, and CTLA-4.

So what’s the role of these checkpoint molecules? Analysts say these molecules aid the tumors hiding from the immune system and by hindering these factors, immunotherapies can attack the immune system through a treatment approach that has enhanced survival compared to typical therapists.

Analysts and researchers are more motivated since the future of immuno-oncology seems brighter. Immuno-oncology medicines are finally in a place to compete against standard SOC (standard of care) chemotherapy treatments based on the first line of metastatic setting. These treatments have also shown efficiency in a wide range of indications that offer a less toxic alternative for a treatment.

Setbacks and challenges are common in researches like this, but despite all of that, researchers and developers have found creative and innovative techniques to effectively amplify the immune response against cancer. They are all hoping that in the near future the combination of IO (Immuno-Oncology) agents with other similar medicines as well as targeted therapies or chemotherapy will pave way to improved long-term survival results for more cancer patients.