Multicenter cohort study of neoadjuvant PD-1 or PD-L1 blockade with chemotherapy for borderline resectable or unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer

Patients with borderline resectable or unresectable stage III NSCLC with T4 and/or N2-N3 involvement face limited treatment options and poor outcomes. A multicenter retrospective cohort study found that among 112 of these patients, neoadjuvant PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy resulted in surgical resectability in 75%. Pathological complete response was achieved in 29%, and major pathological response in 42%. The median event-free survival was 52.6 months among patients who underwent resection. The authors conclude that neoadjuvant PD-1/PD-L1 blockade combined with chemotherapy was associated with high resectability and pathological responses.