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IMMUNOTHERAPY

Neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade in NSCLC

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology volume 15, page 404 (2018)Cite this article

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Immune-checkpoint inhibitors targeting the PD-1–PD-L1 axis have improved the outcomes of patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including after definitive chemoradiotherapy for unresectable stage III disease. However, whether these agents are effective in patients with resectable stage I–IIIA NSCLC — for whom therapeutic advances have been limited — remains unknown. Now, data from a pilot neoadjuvant study provide new insights.

In this study, 22 patients were allocated to receive 2 doses of the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab (3 mg/kg every 2 weeks) starting ~4 weeks before resection of stage I (19%), stage II (48%), or stage IIIA (33%) NSCLC. After receiving one dose, one patient was deemed ineligible and another had grade 3 pneumonia and proceeded to surgery without receiving a second dose. Four other patients had grade 1–2 adverse events. Importantly, treatment did not delay surgery for any patient and of the 21 primary tumours removed, 20 were completely resected.

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  1. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology http://www.nature.com/nrclinonc

    David Killock

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  1. David Killock
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Correspondence to David Killock.

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Killock, D. Neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade in NSCLC. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 15, 404 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-018-0032-0

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