Immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer: is simultaneous blockade better?

Immunotherapy has proven to be a major breakthrough in the treatment of a variety of cancers, having been called the major oncologic achievement in 2015 by the American Society of Clinic Oncology. Two immune checkpoint inhibitors, antibodies to the programmed cell death protein-1 receptor (PD-1), received FDA approval in 2015 for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer, and others similar agents are actively being studied. Advancements in the treatment of lung cancer have been desperately needed as treatment strategies utilizing platinum-based doublet therapy result in modest improvements in overall survival with a median of 8–10 months and 2-year survival rates of 10–15% in patients with metastatic disease (1).