***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of erlotinib plus DC/CIK in maintenance therapy of advanced non – small cell lung cancer . After 4 cycles of the 2-drug regimen treatment with platinum , the 54 patients with non – small cell lung cancer in phase IIIb or IV reached stable or beyond stable stages . The patients were then r and omly divided into 2 groups . One group was treated with erlotinib therapy ( erlotinib group ) , and the other was treated with DC/CIK plus erlotinib ( DC/CIK plus erlotinib group ) . The progression-free survival of the erlotinib group and the DC/CIK plus erlotinib group was 3.98 months ( 95 % CI , 3.56–4.40 ) and 5.02 months ( 95 % CI , 4.32–5.72 ) ( P=0.002 ) , respectively . The median overall survival of the erlotinib group and the DC/CIK plus erlotinib group was 9.9 months ( 95 % CI , 9.1–10.6 ) and 10.5 months ( 95 % CI , 9.6–11.4 ) ( P=0.29 ) , respectively . The levels of CD3 + , CD4 + , and CD8 + were significantly different before and after the treatment in the DC/CIK plus erlotinib group , but not in the erlotinib group . There was no significant difference in toxicity between the 2 groups . In conclusion , there was no statistically significant difference in overall survival  between DC/CIK plus erlotinib and erlotinib as maintenance therapy . DC/CIK plus erlotinib was well tolerated with a manageable safety profile BACKGROUND Blockade of programmed death 1 ( PD-1 ) , an inhibitory receptor expressed by T cells , can overcome immune resistance . We assessed the antitumor activity and safety of BMS-936558 , an antibody that specifically blocks PD-1 . METHODS We enrolled patients with advanced melanoma , non-small-cell lung cancer , castration-resistant prostate cancer , or renal-cell or colorectal cancer to receive anti-PD-1 antibody at a dose of 0.1 to 10.0 mg per kilogram of body weight every 2 weeks . Response was assessed after each 8-week treatment cycle . Patients received up to 12 cycles until disease progression or a complete response occurred . RESULTS A total of 296 patients received treatment through February 24 , 2012 .  Grade 3 or 4 drug-related adverse events occurred in 14 % of patients ; there were three deaths from pulmonary toxicity . No maximum tolerated dose was defined . Adverse events consistent with immune-related causes were observed . Among 236 patients in whom response could be evaluated , objective responses ( complete or partial responses ) were observed in those with non-small-cell lung cancer , melanoma , or renal-cell cancer .  Cumulative response rates ( all doses ) were 18 % among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer ( 14 of 76 patients ) , 28 % among patients with melanoma ( 26 of 94 patients ) , and 27 % among patients with renal-cell cancer ( 9 of 33 patients ) . Responses were durable ; 20 of 31 responses lasted 1 year or more in patients with 1 year or more of follow-up . To assess the role of intratumoral PD-1 lig and ( PD-L1 ) expression in the modulation of the PD-1-PD-L1 pathway , immunohistochemical analysis was performed on pretreatment tumor specimens obtained from 42 patients . Of 17 patients with PD-L1-negative tumors , none had an objective response ; 9 of 25 patients ( 36 % ) with PD-L1-positive tumors had an objective response ( P=0.006 ) . CONCLUSIONS Anti-PD-1 antibody produced objective responses in approximately one in four to one in five patients with non-small-cell lung cancer , melanoma , or renal-cell cancer ; the adverse-event profile does not appear to preclude its use . Preliminary data suggest a relationship between PD-L1 expression on tumor cells and objective response . ( Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb and others ; Clinical Trials.gov number , NCT00730639 . ) BACKGROUND Nivolumab , a fully human IgG4 programmed death 1 ( PD-1 ) immune-checkpoint-inhibitor antibody , disrupts PD-1-mediated signaling and may restore antitumor immunity . METHODS In this r and omized , open-label , international phase 3 study , we assigned patients with nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) that had progressed during or after platinum-based doublet chemotherapy  to receive nivolumab at a dose of 3 mg per kilogram of body weight every 2 weeks or docetaxel at a dose of 75 mg per square meter of body-surface area every 3 weeks . The primary end point was overall survival . RESULTS Overall survival was longer with nivolumab than with docetaxel .  The median overall survival was 12.2 months ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 9.7 to 15.0 ) among 292 patients in the  nivolumab group and 9.4 months ( 95 % CI , 8.1 to 10.7 ) among 290 patients in the docetaxel group ( hazard ratio for death , 0.73 ; 96 % CI , 0.59 to 0.89 ; P=0.002 ) . At 1 year , the overall survival rate was 51 % ( 95 % CI , 45 to 56 ) with nivolumab versus 39 % ( 95 % CI , 33 to 45 ) with docetaxel . With additional follow-up , the overall survival rate at 18 months was 39 % ( 95 % CI , 34 to 45 ) with nivolumab versus 23 % ( 95 % CI , 19 to 28 ) with docetaxel . The response rate was 19 % with nivolumab versus 12 % with docetaxel ( P=0.02 ) . Although progression-free survival did not favor nivolumab over docetaxel ( median , 2.3 months and 4.2 months , respectively ) , the rate of progression-free survival at 1 year was higher with nivolumab than with docetaxel ( 19 % and 8 % , respectively ) . Nivolumab was associated with even greater efficacy  than docetaxel across all end points in subgroups defined according to prespecified levels of tumor-membrane expression ( ≥1 % , ≥5 % , and ≥10 % ) of the PD-1 lig and . Treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 were reported in 10 % of the patients in the nivolumab group , as compared with 54 % of those in the docetaxel group . CONCLUSIONS Among patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC that had progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy  , overall survival was longer with nivolumab than with docetaxel . ( Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb ; CheckMate 057 Clinical Trials.gov number , NCT01673867 . ) BACKGROUND Patients with advanced squamous-cell non-small-cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) who have disease progression during or after first-line chemotherapy have limited treatment options . This r and omized , open-label , international , phase 3 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of nivolumab , a fully human IgG4 programmed death 1 ( PD-1 ) immune-checkpoint-inhibitor antibody , as compared with docetaxel in this patient population . METHODS We r and omly assigned 272 patients to receive nivolumab , at a dose of 3 mg per kilogram of body weight every 2 weeks , or docetaxel , at a dose of 75 mg per square meter of body-surface area every 3 weeks . The primary end point was overall survival . RESULTS The median overall survival was 9.2 months ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 7.3 to 13.3 ) with nivolumab versus 6.0 months ( 95 % CI , 5.1 to 7.3 ) with docetaxel . The risk of death was 41 % lower with nivolumab than with docetaxel ( hazard ratio , 0.59 ; 95 % CI , 0.44 to 0.79 ; P<0.001 ) . At 1 year , the overall survival rate was 42 % ( 95 % CI , 34 to 50 ) with nivolumab versus 24 % ( 95 % CI , 17 to 31 ) with docetaxel . The response rate was 20 % with nivolumab versus 9 % with docetaxel ( P=0.008 ) . The median progression-free survival was 3.5 months with nivolumab versus 2.8 months with docetaxel ( hazard ratio for death or disease progression , 0.62 ; 95 % CI , 0.47 to 0.81 ; P<0.001 ) . The expression of the PD-1 lig and ( PD-L1 ) was neither prognostic nor predictive of benefit . Treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 were reported in 7 % of the patients in the nivolumab group as compared with 55 % of those in the docetaxel group . CONCLUSIONS Among patients with advanced , previously treated squamous-cell NSCLC , overall survival , response rate , and progression-free survival were significantly better with nivolumab than with docetaxel , regardless of PD-L1 expression level . ( Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb ; CheckMate 017 Clinical Trials.gov number , NCT01642004 . ) AIMS AND BACKGROUND The incidence and development of cancer are closely related to dysfunction of immune function . The immune system can not identify and remove malignant and mutant cells , which cause tumor cells to escape from surveillance and clearance of the immune system . Immunobiological cancer therapy plays an important role in strengthening body immunological surveillance function and killing remaining tumor cells in the body . We investigated the role of DC/CIK ( dendritic cell/cytokine-induced killer cells ) immunobiological cancer therapy in maintenance therapy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer . METHODS When 60 cases of non-small cell lung cancer patients in stage IIIb and IV reached stable disease after treatment with 4 cycles of a two-drug regimen with platinum  , they were r and omly divided into two groups . One group was treated with DC/CIK immunobiological cancer therapy , and the other was taken as a control group . Finally , cancer progression time and toxicity reaction of the two groups were evaluated . RESULTS DC/CIK treatment prolongs progression-free survival ( 3.20 months [ 95 % CI , 2.94 - 3.50 ] vs 2.56 months [ 95 % CI , 2.39 - 2.73 ] ; P < 0.05 ) . In the treatment group , the proportion of NK cells , T-cell subgroups CD3 + , CD4 + and CD8 + had a significant change before and after treatment . Liver and kidney function and blood tests of the treatment group were within the normal range before and after treatment . In the treatment group , 1 case suffered from chest distress , 3 cases suffered from acratia , and 4 cases suffered from pyrexia . CONCLUSIONS DC/CIK treatment had potential benefit for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer compared with the control group and had no obvious side effects . DC/CIK treatment is a safe and effective method for maintenance therapy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer Purpose : Racotumomab-alum is an anti-idiotype vaccine targeting the NeuGcGM3 tumor-associated ganglioside . This clinical trial was conducted to provide a preliminary estimate of efficacy and safety of racotumomab as switch maintenance for patients with advanced non – small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) . Experimental design : Patients with stage IIIb/IV NSCLC who have at least stable disease after first-line chemotherapy were r and omized 1:1 to racotumomab-alum ( 5 immunizations every 2 weeks and re-immunizations every 4 weeks ) or placebo . Treatment was administered beyond progressive disease , until severe performance status worsening or toxicity . At progression , only five patients per group received further anticancer therapy . The primary endpoint was overall survival ( OS ) . Results : One-hundred and seventy-six patients were r and omized to racotumomab-alum ( n = 87 ) and placebo ( n = 89 ) . Median OS was 8.23 and 6.80 months , respectively [ HR , 0.63 ; 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) , 0.46–0.87 ; P = 0.004 ] . Median progression-free survival ( PFS ) in vaccinated patients was 5.33 versus 3.90 months for placebo ( HR , 0.73 ; 95 % CI 0.53–0.99 ; P = 0.039 ) . The most common adverse events in the racotumomab-alum arm were burning and pain at the injection site , bone pain , and asthenia . A high antibody response of IgM and IgG isotype against the NeuGcGM3 ganglioside was obtained . Hyperimmune sera were able to specifically recognize and kill the Neu 
    Output:
    
Efficacy analysis indicated an improvement of OS in advanced NSCLC patients after treating by therapeutic vaccines and immune checkpoint inhibitors , but not for other immunomodulators .
Safety analysis showed that immunotherapy was well-tolerated .
All kinds of grade ≥3 adverse events were similar between experimental group and control group except that neutropenia and thrombocytopenia had a higher incidence in patients received vaccines .
In conclusion , immunotherapy is a promising treatment for advanced NSCLC patients .