Perioperative Chemo-Immunotherapy in Non-Oncogene-Addicted Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Italian Expert Panel Meeting

Background: Immunotherapy (IO)-based strategies have been demonstrated to significantly prolong survival in the perioperative setting of non-oncogene-addicted non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The adoption of such strategies in clinical practice depends on heterogeneous regulatory approvals and on the agreement between medical oncologists and thoracic surgeons on patients’ selection. Methods: An Expert Panel Meeting of medical oncologists and thoracic surgeons was held virtually by the Italian Association of Thoracic Oncology (AIOT) to discuss results of pivotal clinical trials with perioperative chemo-immunotherapy and reach agreement on open issues for the topic, formulating specific statements based on initially proposed discussion questions. Results: Overall, panelists found agreement on seven statements. With regard to tissue and biomarker analysis, the role of increasing PD-L1 expression in predicting IO efficacy was recognized, whereas ctDNA and pCR were mainly attributed a prognostic role, in the absence of dedicated studies. The panelists acknowledged direct relationship between the benefit of neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy approaches and the local burden of disease/mediastinal node involvement, supporting the inclusion of these factors, together with PD-L1, in selecting upfront surgery or induction treatment. The panelists agreed that the current literature data do not answer the issue of assessing the role of the adjuvant phase within a perioperative treatment strategy. Surgical considerations on the role of pneumonectomy and other approaches were also discussed. Conclusions: This experience highlights the importance of a synergistic approach between oncologists and surgeons to leverage the unmet needs in translating results of IO-perioperative clinical trials into clinical practice in patients with resectable NSCLC.