Our team at VIC recently published a review article in the Trends in Molecular Medicine Journal, under the guidance of Dr. Gemechu. Clinical trial data increasingly show that targeted immunotherapies such as antibodies, T-cells and vaccines improve outcomes when delivered in combination with the immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) derivatives lenalidomide or pomalidomide. We review these clinical data to highlight the relevance of IMiDs in combinatorial immunotherapy for both haematological and solid tumours. Further research into the molecular mechanisms of IMiDs and an increased understanding of their immunomodulatory effects may refine the specific applications of IMiDs and improve the design of future clinical trials, moving IMiDs to the forefront of combinatorial cancer immunotherapy. With these areas of focus, over the next decade, we expect IMiDs to become core components of the cancer immunotherapy armamentarium not only for MM but for a range of other tumour types as well.
