Phase 2 trial of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab for resectable non-small cell lung cancer
Prof. Martin Eichhorn
The phase 2 NEOMUN trial, at Heidelberg University Hospital (Germany) evaluated neoadjuvant pembrolizumab for resectable stage II-IIIA NSCLC. Major and complete pathologic respons rates were 24.1% and 13.8%, respectively. Tumor response increased with higher PD-L1 tumor proportion score and high pretherapeutic TMB. Preoperative metabolic response, quantified using PET-CT, predicted the pathologic tumor response. Disease-free survival and overall survival at 36 months were 75.9% and 82.7%, respectively. The authors conclude that neoadjuvant pembrolizumab was safe and feasible among patients with resectable stage II-IIIA NSCLC, and was associated with a remarkable major pathologic response rate.
