Immune play: defending the liver

The notable emergence of immunotherapy as an effective and durable anti-tumor treatment strategy is driving intense clinical research into new agents. The recent approval of the first anti-programmed death (PD)-1 antibody, pembrolizumab, by the US FDA in August 2014 for metastatic melanoma, has highlighted the increasingly dominant role that cancer immunotherapy agents play in the oncology therapeutic arsenal. Unpredictably, tumors previously not considered immunogenic have noted encouraging therapeutic responses following treatment with these agents, with a side effect profile which is manageable and less toxic than conventional chemotherapy.

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