Zusammenfassung
Das Konzept, Zellen des Immunsystems so zu aktivieren, dass eine ausreichend effektive Immunantwort gegen Tumorzellen erzielt werden kann, ist nicht neu. Bis zur klinischen Einführung der Checkpoint-Inhibitoren konnte sich aber keine Form der Immuntherapie, seien es Zytokin-basierte Therapien oder Therapiekonzepte mit aktivierten Effektorzellen, als ausreichend effektiv durchsetzen. In dieser Übersicht werden die wichtigsten heute zugelassenen Checkpoint-Inhibitoren bei verschiedenen Tumorentitäten vorgestellt.
Abstract
In addition to fighting and repelling pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and fungi, which can cause infections, the human immune system also has the task to eliminate altered, damaged and obsolete cells. The immunological processes are very complex and affect a whole network of effector cells, various messenger substances, so-called cytokines are activated or slowed down. So far, only a very few immunological treatment concepts were able to prevail in cancer therapy. Today, synthetically produced antibodies can recognize specifically altered or overexpressed protein structures such as receptors on the cell surface. They dock to such structures and then intervene in targeted processes of metabolism and growth of cancer cells.
So, the concept of activating cells of the immune system to achieve a sufficiently effective immune response against tumor cells is not new. However, until the clinical introduction of the checkpoint inhibitors, no form of immunotherapy, whether it was cytokine-based therapies or therapy concepts with activated effector cells, could prove sufficient effectiveness. This review presents the most important checkpoint inhibitors currently approved for various tumor entities.
Schlüsselwörter
Immuntherapie - Immunsystem - Checkpoint-Inhibitoren - Antikörper - Toxizität
Keywords
Immunotherapy - immune system - checkpoint inhibitor - antibody - toxicity
