Immunomodulatory Drugs: Immune Checkpoint Agents in Acute Leukemia.

ABSTRACT: Intrinsic immune responses to acute leukemia are inhibited by a variety of mechanisms, such as aberrant antigen expression by leukemia cells, secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines and expression of inhibitory enzymes in the tumor microenvironment, expansion of immunoregulatory cells, and activation of immune checkpoint pathways, all leading to T cell dysfunction and/or exhaustion. Leukemic cells, similar to other tumor cells, hijack these inhibitory pathways to evade immune recognition and destruction by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Thus, blockade of immune checkpoints has emerged as a highly promising approach to augment innate anti-tumor immunity in order to treat malignancies. Most evidence for the clinical efficacy of this immunotherapeutic strategy has been seen in patients with metast

SUBMITTER: Knaus HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4729661 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature