PERIOPERATIVE TREATMENT OF RESECTABLE NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER: FROM CLINICAL TRIAL EVIDENCE TO IMPLEMENTATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE

Abstract

In recent years, treatment options for resectable non-small cell lung cancer have changed substantially, with neoadjuvant and perioperative chemoimmunotherapy being incorporated into treatment algorithms. Clinical trial results have shown improvements in overall survival and event-free survival, high rates of complete (R0) resection, and a greater likelihood of lung-sparing surgery when neoadjuvant treatment reduces tumour burden and nodal involvement. However, real-world data have revealed important challenges in implementing these treatment strategies, including insufficient preoperative testing for molecular biomarkers and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in tumour tissue, delays in obtaining histological confirmation of the diagnosis, and late involvement of the multidisciplinary team.