Technical Articles

This article focuses on the molecular characteristics and clinical value of the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint pathway, systematically elaborating the physiological function of PD-1 as a negative regulatory receptor on the surface of T cells in maintaining immune tolerance and the pathological mechanism by which tumors exploit it to achieve immune evasion, analyzing the therapeutic principle of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in restoring T cell killing function by blocking this pathway, and discussing the efficacy and safety evidence as well as biomarker screening strategies for these inhibitors in first-line and second-line treatment of advanced lung cancer.

PD-1 inhibitors and PD-L1 inhibitors, as immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the same pathway, enhance T cell recognition and killing of tumor cells by blocking the binding of PD-1 to PD-L1, thereby exerting anti-tumor effects.