What are the main functions and efficacy of durvalumab

Durvalumab/Durvalumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and belongs to the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) family. Its main function is to bind to PD-L1 on the surface of tumor cells and block its interaction with the PD-1 receptor on the surface of T cells, thereby releasing the inhibition of T cell activity. Under normal circumstances, the combination of PD-L1 and PD-1 can reduce the aggressiveness of T cells to maintain immune homeostasis, but cancer cells use this mechanism to evade immune system recognition. Durvalumab breaks this balance and reactivates the anti-tumor function of T cells, allowing them to effectively recognize and kill tumor cells.

Currently, durvalumab is widely used to treat patients with locally advanced, inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), especially as maintenance treatment after combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy (CRT). A large amount of clinical data shows that durvalumab can significantly prolong progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and is an important breakthrough in improving the prognosis of patients with advanced lung cancer. In addition, durvalumab has also shown positive efficacy in the field of urothelial cancer (such as bladder cancer) and is used as first-line immunotherapy in the treatment of advanced or metastatic patients who cannot receive cisplatin chemotherapy.

It is worth mentioning that durvalumab is administered by intravenous infusion once every two weeks and is relatively well tolerated during treatment. Common immune-related side effects such as rash, diarrhea, thyroid dysfunction, etc. are mostly mild to moderate and can be effectively managed through timely intervention. As the concept of immunotherapy becomes more popular, durvalumab is being studied for indication expansion in more tumor types, including head and neck cancer, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and liver cancer.

Reference materials:https://www.imfinzi.com/