Adults with resectable non-small cell lung cancer are five times more likely have complete pathological response with perioperative nivolumab plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone, oncologists report.

Results from the phase III trial suggest that patients also had significantly longer event-free survival when given the immune checkpoint inhibitor as both neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy.

Principal investigator and US oncologist Associate Professor Tina Cascone, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, said the findings supported the use of perioperative nivolumab to cut the risk of relapse with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

“Looking ahead, it will be critical to identify patient and disease characteristics that will tell us who can potentially be cured with neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy only and who will benefit from more intensified treatment strategies,” she said.