Conversion therapy with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy achieves a pathological complete response in stage IIIC NSCLC

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunotherapy
• Thoracic Surgery

Background:

• Stage IIIC non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is generally unresectable, leading to poor survival outcomes.
• There is a critical need for novel, individualized therapeutic strategies to improve prognosis in advanced NSCLC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a case of successful conversion therapy in unresectable stage IIIC NSCLC.
• To highlight the potential benefit of neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy.

Main Methods:

• A patient with stage IIIC NSCLC received neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
• The patient subsequently underwent surgical resection.
• Histopathological analysis was performed post-surgery.

Main Results:

• The patient achieved a pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy.
• Histologic transformation from squamous cell carcinoma to adenocarcinoma was observed.
• Prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) was achieved post-surgery.

Conclusions:

• Conversion therapy with immunotherapy and chemotherapy followed by surgery may benefit select patients with unresectable stage IIIC NSCLC.
• This approach can potentially lead to downstaging and improved outcomes.
• Histologic transformation warrants further investigation in the context of treatment response.