From targeting the tumor to targeting the immune system: Transversal challenges in oncology with the inhibition of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis

After that the era of chemotherapy in the treatment of solid tumors have been overcome by the “translational era”, with the innovation introduced by targeted therapies, medical oncology is currently looking at the dawn of a new “immunotherapy era” with the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (CKI) antibodies. The onset of PD-1/PD-L1 targeted therapy has demonstrated the importance of this axis in the immune escape across almost all human cancers. The new CKI allowed to significantly prolong survival and to generate durable response, demonstrating remarkable efficacy in a wide range of cancer types. The aim of this article is to review the most up to date literature about the clinical effectiveness of CKI antibodies targeting PD-1/PD-L1 axis for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and to explore transversal challenges in the immune checkpoint blockade.