Real-world evaluation of immunotherapy after chemoradiation for stage III NSCLC

The 2017 multinational PACIFIC trial established a role for immunotherapy after chemoradiation for unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer. However, real-world NSCLC patients commonly differ from clinical trial populations in terms of age, health, access to care, and treatment course, which may all factor into the efficacy of immuntherapy. A cohort study using data in the National Cancer Database found that immunotherapy after chemotherapy and radiation for stage III NSCLC was associated with a survival advantage in the general US population, despite two-third of patients treated differently than the PACIFIC protocol. The findings suggest that there may be flexibility in the timing of immunotherapy initiation after radiation.