Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: New Challenges with Immune Checkpoint Blockers and Targeted Therapies

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 16; no. 16; p. 2779
• Main Authors: Lavaud, Pernelle, Bortolot, Martina, Zullo, Lodovica, O'Reilly, David, Naidoo, Jarushka, Mountzios, Giannis, Mercier, Olaf, Hendriks, Lizza E L, Remon, Jordi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 06.08.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Adjuvant treatment; Adjuvants; Cancer; Care and treatment; Chemoradiotherapy; Chemotherapy; Clinical trials; Development and progression; Diseases; Epidermal growth factor receptors; Immune checkpoint; Immunotherapy; Lung cancer; Lung cancer, Non-small cell; Lung cancer, Small cell; Lymphatic system; Medical prognosis; Minimal residual disease; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; Oncogenes; Patient compliance; Pembrolizumab; Pharmaceutical industry; Radiation therapy; Relapse; Review; Risk assessment; Small cell lung carcinoma; Surgery; Tyrosine kinase inhibitors; Germany; lung cancer; perioperative; induction; early-stage NSCLC; osimertinib; alectinib
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers16162779

The recent advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has dramatically modified treatment strategies by improving the prognosis in this setting. Osimertinib and alectinib, both TKIs, have shown significant improvements in outcomes for patients with resected - and -positive NSCLC, respectively, changing the standard of care in these subgroups. More recently, the LAURA trial showed the efficacy of osimertinib after chemoradiotherapy in patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC harboring mutations. Numerous trials are still ongoing to investigate neoadjuvant/perioperative TKIs in several oncogene-driven NSCLC. In addition, several ICBs have been tested and approved as adjuvant (atezolizumab and pembrolizumab), neoadjuvant (nivolumab), and perioperative treatments (pembrolizumab) for patients with resectable early-stage NSCLC. Despite these advances, many challenges remain regarding the use of TKIs and ICBs in this setting, including the optimal duration of adjuvant TKI or induction ICB therapy, the role of minimal residual disease to identify patients at high-risk of disease relapse and to guide adjuvant treatment decisions, and the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in resected oncogene-driven NSCLC. Furthermore, potential predictive biomarkers for efficacy are needed to eventually intensify the entire perioperative strategies. This review aims to summarize and discuss the available evidence, the ongoing trials, and the challenges associated with TKI- and ICB-based approaches in early-stage NSCLC.