Immunotherapy and next-generation sequencing guided therapy for precision oncology: What have we learnt and what does the future hold?

INTRODUCTION: The rapid development of clinical next generation sequencing (NGS) and the contemporaneous availability of molecular targeted therapies ignited and fueled the field of precision oncology. More recently there has been an explosion of immunotherapeutic agents, specifically the checkpoint inhibitors: PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 antibodies. These new classes of agents have produced durable responses in a variety of tumor subtypes. AREAS COVERED: In this review, the authors explore the role of NGS in identifying targets for molecular therapy. The authors also expand on the future uses of NGS in oncology including: prediction of checkpoint inhibitor response, quantification of tumor mutational burden, neoantigen calling using bioinformatics tools, and finally the personalization of cell transfer technologies and cancer vaccines. EXPERT COMMENTARY: The near future will witness an increased understanding of the immune system and genomics in cancer. High throughput sequencing technology will expand in parallel with an ever-expanding array of novel therapies. Improved computational power coupled with bioinformatics algorithms will combine the fields of genomics and immunology. The emerging fields that stand to benefit from rapid translation of NGS technology include cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapy, which will further refine precision oncology.