Journal of Practical Oncology ›› 2022, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (1): 49-53.doi: 10.11904/j.issn.1002-3070.2022.01.009

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research progress of therapies combined immune checkpoint inhibitors in pancreatic cancer

LIU Jinshuang, ZHAGN Wenjing, LI Qingwei, LI Zhiwei   

  1. The First Ward of Gastroenterology,Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital,Harbin 150081,China
  • Received:2021-03-04 Revised:2021-08-24 Online:2022-02-28 Published:2022-01-21

Abstract: Pancreatic cancer is extremely malignant.It is usually in the advanced stage when discovered,and the median survival time is extremely short,which seriously threatens human life and health.Compared with other cancers,the treatment progress made in recent years is also very limited.Immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs),as emerging drugs in recent years,have achieved exciting therapeutic effects in multiple tumors,but they have encountered Waterloo in pancreatic cancer.The reasons why pancreatic cancer is not sensitive to ICIs treatment may include the following aspects:first,pancreatic cancer is weak antigenic and insufficient to activate the immune system;second,the dense connective tissue in the immune microenvironment hinders drug infiltration;third,the immunosuppressive microenvironment formed by a large number of immunosuppressive cells inhibits the activation of T lymphocytes.However,the latest research shows that ICIs-based combination therapy can increase the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer to ICIs treatment by increasing the exposure of tumor antigens,breaking the interstitial barrier,and improving the immunosuppressive microenvironment,thereby exerting a positive anti-tumor effect.This article reviews the progress made in the field of pancreatic cancer treatment based on ICIs-based combination therapy.

Key words: Pancreatic cancer, Immune checkpoint inhibitors, Combination therapy

CLC Number: