Introduction: Multiple myeloma (MM) is still considered incurable and the outcome of patients with triple-class refractory remains very poor. Immunotherapy is considered as a standard of care for the treatment of MM. Among immunotherapeutic approaches, the PD-1/PD-L1 axis is an attractive target because PD-L1 is highly expressed in most myeloma plasma cells. While many types of cancer benefit from checkpoint inhibitor treatment, their relevance in multiple myeloma needs to be defined.
Areas covered: The authors evaluate the published data regarding the mechanism of action, safety profile, and clinical efficacy of the immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
Expert opinion: The use of ICI monotherapy does not offer any clinical benefit in myeloma patients. In combination with immunomodulatory drugs (IMID), ICI failed to demonstrate clinical benefit and were associated with increased toxicity. Given the toxicities of these treatments, predictive markers would be useful to select patients who would benefit most. Clinical studies are necessary to evaluate the safety and efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in combination with other standards of care such as proteasome inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies. The combination of anti-PD-1 with T-cell engager (TCE) or CAR-T cells seems theoretically attractive and should be explored in clinical trials.
Keywords: Immune checkpoints; PD-1; PD-L1; multiple myeloma; nivolumab; pembrolizumab.