Journal of International Oncology ›› 2022, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (6): 366-370.doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn371439-20220323-00070

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Advances in neoadjuvant immunotherapy for lung cancer

Cai Gangxiang1, Li Jing2, Xu Bin2()   

  1. 1Department of Oncology, People’s Hospital of Jiayu County of Xianning City of Hubei Province, Jiayu 437200, China
    2Cancer Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China
  • Received:2022-03-23 Revised:2022-04-03 Online:2022-06-08 Published:2022-06-30
  • Contact: Xu Bin E-mail:xubin_oncology@whu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy can reduce the risk of postoperative recurrence or distant metastasis in patients with resectable lung cancer, prolong the survival of patients, and has better efficacy compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Existing clinical trials with a small sample size indicate that neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has a higher rate of major pathologic response compared to single-agent immunotherapy, but it is also accompanied by a higher incidence of treatment-related adverse events and a longer treatment cycle, which may lead to delayed surgery or increased risk of intraoperative complications. The selection of therapeutic regimens, surgical timing, efficacy evaluation, and other issues have not been determined. Several phase Ⅲ clinical studies of a single drug and combined regimen of neoadjuvant immunotherapy are ongoing, and the efficacy of neoadjuvant immunotherapy is expected to be further verified through follow-up data.

Key words: Lung neoplasms, Immunotherapy, Treatment outcome, Neoadjuvant therapy