Current State of Immunotherapy for Lung Cancer: Focusing on Real-World Evidence

A special issue of Current Oncology (ISSN 1718-7729). This special issue belongs to the section "Thoracic Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 3064

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Private Health Network DIE RADIOLOGIE, 80331 München, Germany
2. Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany
Interests: immunotherapy; radiation; lung cancer; combined treatment; real-world data; peripheral biomarkers of immune response

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Immunotherapy or the use of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as clinical routine in the treatment of lung cancer has drastically improved patient prognosis. This strong positive survival effect was documented in squamous and non-squamous histology as well as all stages of cancer disease.

The global implementation of ICIs in clinical practice is fast advancing across the world; real-world data and experiences are very intensively produced and will need a substantial analysis and discussion to generate more effective study/treatment concepts in the future. Especially in the field of combined treatment of ICI with chemotherapy, radiation and tumor treating fields (TTFs) in the first or salvage settings, real-world data collection and interpretation are very important.

This Special Issue of Current Oncology will focus on clinical studies and reports describing the efficacy and safety of ICIs in real-life clinical practice. Reports describing the implementation of combined treatment modalities, long-term follow-up results, abscopal effects and immunological phenomena are invited. Studies describing peripheral (blood) biomarkers and imaging signatures of anti-tumor immune response in the real-life setting are of strong interest. In this Special Issue of Current Oncology, we welcome the submission of original research as well as review articles. Also, protocols of ongoing or planned clinical trials, and summaries of interdisciplinary meetings and boards will be considered for publication.

Dr. Farkhad Manapov
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • lung cancer
  • immunotherapy
  • immune-checkpoint inhibition
  • radiotherapy
  • chemotherapy
  • tumor-treating fields
  • combined treatment
  • real-world evidence

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 486 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Outcomes in Patients with Locally Advanced and Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with High PD-L1 Expression
by Vesna Ćeriman Krstić, Ivan Soldatović, Milija Gajić, Natalija Samardžić, Ruža Stević, Nikola Čolić, Katarina Lukić, Biljana Šeha, Damir Radončić, Slavko Stamenić, Milan Savić, Vladimir Milenković, Brankica Milošević Maračić and Dragana Jovanović
Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(4), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32040229 - 15 Apr 2025
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Abstract
Before the introduction of targeted therapy and immunotherapy, patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of up to 10%. After the positive results of KEYNOTE-024, pembrolizumab was approved in a first-line setting for patients with metastatic [...] Read more.
Before the introduction of targeted therapy and immunotherapy, patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of up to 10%. After the positive results of KEYNOTE-024, pembrolizumab was approved in a first-line setting for patients with metastatic NSCLC and PD-L1 ≥ 50%. A small number of patients had a durable response to immunotherapy, and so far it has not been discovered who will benefit. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of first-line pembrolizumab in patients with locally advanced and metastatic NSCLC with high PD-L1 expression in a real-world setting. We enrolled 35 patients with locally advanced and metastatic NSCLC who had PD-L1 ≥ 50%. Progression-free survival was 9 months, 95% CI (2.6–15.4). Overall survival was 14 months, 95% CI (0–28.5). Five-year OS rate for the whole group of patients was 20%, and the six-year OS rate was 17.2%. Immunotherapy was a revolution in the treatment of NSCLC. We still do not know which patients will benefit from immunotherapy, but patients who do respond may experience long-term outcomes. Full article
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Review

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14 pages, 629 KiB  
Review
Immunotherapy and the Tumor Microenvironment in Brain Metastases from Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Challenges and Future Directions
by Meng Wang, Jihua Yang, Shuai Wang, Harjot Gill and Haiying Cheng
Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(3), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32030171 - 16 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Brain metastases (BMs) are a relatively common and severe complication in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), significantly affecting patient prognosis. Metastatic tumor cells can alter the brain tumor microenvironment (TME) to promote an immunosuppressive state, characterized by reduced infiltration of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes [...] Read more.
Brain metastases (BMs) are a relatively common and severe complication in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), significantly affecting patient prognosis. Metastatic tumor cells can alter the brain tumor microenvironment (TME) to promote an immunosuppressive state, characterized by reduced infiltration of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), diminished expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and changes in other proinflammatory factors and immune cell populations. Microglia, the resident macrophages of the brain, play a pivotal role in modulating the central nervous system (CNS) microenvironment through interactions with metastatic cancer cells, astrocytes, and infiltrating T cells. The M2 phenotype of microglia contributes to immunosuppression in BM via the activation of signaling pathways such as STAT3 and PI3K-AKT-mTOR. Recent advances have enhanced our understanding of the immune landscape of BMs in NSCLC, particularly regarding immune evasion within the CNS. Current immunotherapeutic strategies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, have shown promise for NSCLC patients with BM, demonstrating intracranial activity and manageable safety profiles. Future research is warranted to further explore the molecular and immune mechanisms underlying BM, aiming to develop more effective treatments. Full article
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18 pages, 781 KiB  
Review
Oligometastatic NSCLC: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges
by Sara Torresan, Jacopo Costa, Carol Zanchetta, Lorenzo De Marchi, Simona Rizzato and Francesco Cortiula
Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(2), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32020075 - 29 Jan 2025
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Abstract
Oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents a separate entity with a different biology and prognosis compared to stage IV NSCLC. Challenges range from the very definition of oligometastatic disease to the timing and techniques of local treatments, and their benefit in prolonging [...] Read more.
Oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents a separate entity with a different biology and prognosis compared to stage IV NSCLC. Challenges range from the very definition of oligometastatic disease to the timing and techniques of local treatments, and their benefit in prolonging patient survival. Most of the international consensus and guidelines agree on the need for shared criteria, such as appropriate stadiation and even tissue biopsy if needed, in order to select patients that could really benefit from personalised strategies. Multidisciplinary evaluation is crucial in order to define if every lesion is amenable to radical local treatment, which appears to be the most important criterion across different guidelines. A distinction must be made depending on the time of oligo-disease detection, separating de novo oligometastatic disease from oligorecurrence, oligoprogression and oligoresidual disease. These separate entities imply a different biology and prognosis, and treatment strategies consequently must be tailored. Locoregional approaches are therefore often contemplated in order to ensure the best outcome for the patient. In non-oncogene-addicted disease, the advent of immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) allows physicians to take into consideration consolidative treatments, but timing, technique and subsequent systemic treatment remain open issues. In oncogene-addicted NSCLC, local treatments are nowadays preferably reserved to cases of oligoprogression, but the advent of new, more potent drugs might challenge that. In this review, we summarised the current knowledge, consensuses and data from retrospective and prospective trials, with the aim of shedding some light on the topic and emphasising the unmet clinical need. Full article
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