Programmed death ligand-1 inhibitors potentially carry a lower risk of pneumonitis compared with programmed death-1 inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Cancer cells are attacked by innate and acquired immune mechanisms; however, they can escape from immune surveillance via various mechanisms. Immunotherapies involving monoclonal antibodies against programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1); i.e., checkpoint inhibitors, have been developed to inhibit the PD-1 pathway and cause T-cells to attack cancer cells.