Wang Min, Zhai Xiaoyang, Li Ji, Guan Jingyuan, Xu Shuhui, Li YuYing, Zhu Hui
Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China.
Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Front Immunol. 2021 Jul 22;12:670391. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.670391. eCollection 2021.
Recently, the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with advanced cancer has been significantly improved due to the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Low response rate and high occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) make urgently need for ideal predictive biomarkers to identity efficient population and guide treatment strategies. Cytokines are small soluble proteins with a wide range of biological activity that are secreted by activated immune cells or tumor cells and act as a bridge between innate immunity, infection, inflammation and cancer. Cytokines can be detected in peripheral blood and suitable for dynamic detection. During the era of ICIs, many studies investigated the role of cytokines in prediction of the efficiency and toxicity of ICIs. Herein, we review the relevant studies on TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-8, TGF-β and other cytokines as biomarkers for predicting ICI-related reactions and adverse events, and explore the immunomodulatory mechanisms. Finally, the most important purpose of this review is to help identify predictors of ICI to screen patients who are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy.
近年来，由于免疫检查点抑制剂（ICIs）的应用，晚期癌症患者的总生存期（OS）和无进展生存期（PFS）得到了显著改善。低反应率和高免疫相关不良事件（irAEs）发生率使得迫切需要理想的预测生物标志物来识别有效人群并指导治疗策略。细胞因子是一类具有广泛生物活性的小分子可溶性蛋白质，由活化的免疫细胞或肿瘤细胞分泌，在先天免疫、感染、炎症和癌症之间起桥梁作用。细胞因子可在外周血中检测到，适合进行动态检测。在ICIs时代，许多研究探讨了细胞因子在预测ICIs疗效和毒性方面的作用。在此，我们综述了有关肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、白细胞介素-8（IL-8）、转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）等细胞因子作为预测ICI相关反应和不良事件生物标志物的相关研究，并探讨其免疫调节机制。最后，本综述最重要的目的是帮助识别ICI的预测指标，以筛选出最有可能从免疫治疗中获益的患者。
