Lung cancer is a disease difficult to treat and with low survival rates, especially non-smaller cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To treat cancer in advanced stages, new methods had arisen like immunotherapy. Pembrolizumab and nivolumab are IgG4 antibodies targeting programmed death cell receptor (PD-1) used for cancer immunotherapy, that blocks the protection that has cancer cells against the immune system. This antibody works binding and blocking the PD-1 membrane protein of T cells, which is responsible for cell recognition. If T cells cannot recognize the cells, then it would attack, so in this way, the immune system can be enhanced. Pembrolizumab and nivolumab have a variable region that is capable of recognizing the PD-1 receptor, and this plays an important role to kill cancer cells. The structure of the complex PD -1 and its ligand PD-L1 or PD-L2 reveals the structural basis of the PD-1. The interaction with a human antibody has been studied with antibody fragments revealing the molecular basis for the blockade of PD1 / PDL1-PDL2 interaction by pembrolizumab and nivolumab. Different studies involving immunotherapy have shown the remarkable results of pembrolizumab and nivolumab over current chemotherapy for cancer treatment making available a possible way for a new treatment for lung cancer. In a comparative analysis made between those immune checkpoint inhibitors had found the efficacy of pembrolizumab for treatment of NSCLC.
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