A: It’s true that PD-L1/PD-1 inhibitors have led to durable responses in a subset of patients, and survival benefit in many of the patients treated- either as monotherapy or combination. The emergence of this data has also helped to define why some patients respond or benefit more than others- and may help us think about how to develop the next generation of cancer immunotherapeutics. One of the key pieces of data that has emerged is that all of human cancer can largely be broken down into three major phenotypes in terms of how they interact with the human immune system. Inflamed cancers are different from Immune Excluded and Immune Desert cancers. Each of these phenotypes likely require different therapeutic strategies in terms of treatment. Next generation cancer immunotherapies and cancer immunotherapy regimens will have to effectively address these different biologies.

A: Single agent and combination Cancer Immunotherapy with PD-L1/PD-1 inhibitors have generated durable responses in a subset of patients and a survival benefit in a broad group of patients suffering from terminal cancers. However, the next generation of cancer immunotherapeutics have not yet led to a similar therapeutic impact, potentially supporting the complexity and highly regulatred nature of the human immune system. However, advances in engineered therapeutics, from cellular therapy to highly modified multispecifc molecules, is enabling novel methods to modulating biology and the immune system to eradict cancer. As these technologies advance, they provide an opportunity to transform the approaches to cancer immunotherapy and health care in general.