The safety of nivolumab for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Immune checkpoint blockaders (ICBs) act by unbalancing the immune system, thus favoring the development of an immune-mediated antitumor effect. ICBs targeting the programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) have recently been investigated in a number of advanced tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nivolumab, a fully human IgG4 kappa directed against PD-1, has been the first ICB to be approved for second-line treatment of advanced NSCLC.