Combining PD-1 Mediated Checkpoint Blockade with Active Immunotherapy for Prostate Cancer: A Neoadjuvant Trial

Charles Drake, MD, PhD
Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Maryland

The immune system is capable of identifying cancer cells as foreign and causing their destruction. This decades-old theory is called immune surveillance. However, in many patients, including men with prostate cancer, the immune system becomes fatigued and can no longer prevent cancer progression. PD-1 is a cell surface protein that is expressed on exhausted immune cells and impairs an anti-tumor immune response. Dr. Drake has designed a comprehensive study to assess the clinical value of combining immunotherapy (a cancer vaccine) with an inhibitor of PD-1 to enhance a patient’s immune response against advanced prostate cancer. Blockade of PD-1 releases the brakes on the immune response, revitalizing the body’s ability to kill cancer cells. Anti-PD1 is in first-in-man clinical testing. This project could enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy treatments in men with advanced prostate cancer.