Preliminary experience of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in resectable non-small cell lung cancer / 中华胸心血管外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:The study aimed was to explore the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:We retrospectively collected data of all patients who received neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy and chemotherapy for NSCLC followed by surgery in our unit between January 2019 to September 2021.Results:Forty-four patients were diagnosed with NSCLC in a stageⅠ(2 cases), ⅡA(7 cases), ⅡB(11 cases), ⅢA (15 cases), ⅢB (1 case). The average age was 63 years old(range 44-71 years old). Squamous cell carcinoma accounted for 65.91% of all patients. Central lung cancer accounted for the vast majority, with 39 patients (88.64%). There were 19 cases in the neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy group and 25 cases in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group; the average interval between the end of neoadjuvant therapy and the day of operation was 34 days, including( 33.74±10.66 )days in the immunochemotherapy group and (33.88±11.9) days in the chemotherapy group, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. No grade 3 or more adverse events occurred in all patients. There were 13 cases (63.16%) reached PR (partial response)+ CR (complete response) according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST v. 1.1) in the neoadjuvant immunity group and 11 cases (44.00%) in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group. There was no significant difference between the two groups. In the neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy group, 9 cases (47.37%) achieved down-staging, In the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group, 8 cases (32.00%) achieved down-staging, there was no significant difference between the two groups. Seven patients (36.84%) in neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy group showed pCR (pathologic complete remission), but there were no patients who reached pCR in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group., the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.001). Four patients (21.05%) in the neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy group reached mPR (major pathologic response), 6 patients (24.00%) in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group reached mPR, and the difference was no statistically significant( P= 0.817). Conclusion:The safety of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy was satisfactory; Compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy did not increase the preoperative grade 3 adverse events and prolong the waiting time before operation; neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy had obvious advantages in pCR, which provided the possibility for the cure of tumor.