Efficacy and safety of adding induction therapy for unresectable NSCLC receiving cCRT and consolidation...

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by consolidation immunotherapy is standard of care (SOC) for unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. This retrospective study enrolled 168 patients to compare survival and safety outcomes of the addition of induction therapy compared with the cCRT+ICI alone, with stabilized inverse probability weighting used to balance baseline patient characteristics. After adjustment, induction chemotherapy only prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with tumor response to induction, whereas induction chemoimmunotherapy significantly improved PFS relative to both standard treatment and induction chemotherapy, without increasing severe toxic events. No overall survival differences existed across groups. This real-world evidence clarifies the distinct clinical value of different induction strategies and guides personalized treatment selection for this patient population.