Immunotherapy: PD/PD-L1 blockade for the treatment of cancer

Description:
The essay can elaborate on other aspects of this therapy, but should attempt to address the following questions or aspects:
- What is this immune-based therapy and what immune pathway does it target (i.e. mechanism of action)?
- What is the role for PD-L1/PD-1 signaling in the normal immune system? -What is the history of development of this therapy? What key experiments lead to the use of these agents to treat cancer?
- Discuss some of the key preclinical studies done (i.e., studies done in animal models).
- Describe some of the key clinical trials (i.e., landmark studies done in humans). -How are these drugs used in the clinic presently? Are there other diseases that may benefit from treatment with the therapy?
- Are there any safety concerns of using this therapy?