Cancer Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

This Harvard Medical School Continuing Education video examines these key questions: How do immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) work, and what impact have they had on metastatic cancer survival rates? What are the applications for ICIs in early lines of cancer therapy?

Kerry Reynolds, MD, an oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital reviews immune cell activation and checkpoint mechanisms. FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitors are listed. Current uses of ICI therapies including single-agent and combination therapies are discussed, and early and late-stage cancer types where ICIs are being applied are reviewed.

This video was peer reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Salik, TMD, MHPEd, Instructor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; and Dr. Sugantha Sundar, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to validate the quality and accuracy of the content. It was edited by affiliate physicians of Harvard Medical School, Arielle J Medford, MD, Senior Medical Oncology Fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Anna Handorf, MD, Research Fellow in Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital .

00:00 | Introduction
00:53 | Immunology review
02:18 | FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibiting drugs
03:40 | Current uses of ICI therapies
05:04 | Summary

This video was peer reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Salik, TMD, MHPEd, Instructor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; and Dr. Sugantha Sundar, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to validate the quality and accuracy of the content. It was edited by affiliate physicians of Harvard Medical School, Arielle J Medford, MD, Senior Medical Oncology Fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Anna Handorf, MD, Research Fellow in Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital.

References:

Pardoll DM. The blockade of immune checkpoints in cancer immunotherapy. Nat Rev Cancer. 2012;12(4):252-264. Published 2012 Mar 22. doi:10.1038/nrc3239

Haslam A, Gill J, Prasad V. Estimation of the Percentage of US Patients With Cancer Who Are Eligible for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Drugs. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e200423. Published 2020 Mar 2. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.0423

Notice: At this time, the content in this video is not accredited.