Predictive genetic biomarkers in immune checkpoint inhibitors for non-small-cell lung cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors improved the overall survival of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer and changed the treatment since the last decade. The duration of response is longer than what is seen with chemotherapy or targeted agents; however, some patients have no benefit or even a progressive disease as best response. Immune checkpoint inhibitor plus chemotherapy combinations are a very useful strategy, but defining precisely who will benefit most from immunotherapy is still a main question. Therefore, understanding the genetics of the tumor microenvironment is a way to determine new predictive biomarkers to replace the only one currently accepted, PD-L1 expression, whose application is surrounded by uncertainties.