Programmed death-1 receptor ligand (PD-L1) the ligand for PD-1 is a key therapeutic target in
the reactivation of the immune response against multiple cancers. Pharmacologic inhibitors of
PD-1 have also demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity and are currently under active
clinical exploration. avelumab (MSB0010718C; anti-PD-L1 is a fully human anti-PD-L1 igG1
antibody that has shown promising efficacy and an acceptable safety profile in multiple tumor
types.
Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the mainstream treatments of cancer therapy along with
surgery and chemotherapy, yet RT is the only treatment that does not leave the patients
immunocompromised (unlike chemotherapy) and keeps the dying tumor / antigen depot within the
host (unlike surgery), providing an opportunity for antigen presentation. Therefore, RT is a
rational choice to combine with immunotherapy for cancer treatment.