Combining Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Over the past year, the combination of platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy has become the standard of care for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer with any programmed death ligand 1 tumor proportion score. There is preclinical evidence demonstrating potential synergistic immunomodulation with combination therapy by enhancing immune-mediated tumor death and by disrupting the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment that prevents immune detection. This potential synergy or complementary activity has been demonstrated in clinical trials showing improved and durable responses with chemo-immunotherapy.

Keywords: Adenocarcinoma; Checkpoint inhibition; Chemo-immunotherapy; Immunotherapy; Non–small cell lung cancer; PD-1 inhibitor; Squamous cell carcinoma.