Abstract: In recent years, the treatment of lung cancer has undergone earth-shaking changes. The application for immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoint has significantly improved the survival outcomes of advanced lung cancer patients. Several randomized-controlled trials have shown that immunotherapy significantly improves the overall survival of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients when compared with standard chemotherapy in second-line setting. Therefore, immunotherapy is the standard second-line therapy currently. Several clinical trials have also demonstrated the role of immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy in first-line setting. However, it should be noted that the overall response rate of immunotherapy is not high enough, and it currently lacks of accurately predictive biomarkers for immunotherapy. This article summarizes the current progress of immunotherapy for lung cancer and also provides insights into future directions.

Key words: Lung cancer, Immunotherapy, Progress and challenge