Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Despite the promising potential of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there is limited consensus on the optimal treatment strategy for potentially resectable NSCLC. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy (neoCT/IO) with planned surgery versus definitive concurrent chemoradiation followed by immunotherapy (cCRT + IO) in potentially resectable stage III NSCLC. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed data from patients with potentially resectable stage III NSCLC who underwent neoCT/IO with planned surgery or cCRT + IO between March 2020 and June 2023. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance heterogeneity between groups. Efficacy outcomes, safety profiles and patterns of disease recurrence were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 308 eligible patients were included in this study, of whom 195 (63.3%) underwent neoCT/IO and 113 (36.7%) received cCRT + IO. The neoCT/IO group consisted of patients who underwent neoCT/IO + Surgery and neoCT/IO + Radiotherapy. After 1:1 PSM, each group consisted of 105 patients. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 25.9 months in the cCRT + IO group and not reached (NR) in the neoCT/IO group (hazard ratio: 2.91, 95% confidence interval: 1.77-4.78; p < 0.001). Median overall survival (OS) was NR in either group, with 3-year OS rates of 87.5% in the neoCT/IO group and 75.0% in the cCRT + IO group (p = 0.22). The incidence of grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events was similar in both groups, except for a higher incidence of grade 3/4 hematological toxicity in the cCRT + IO group. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with potentially resectable stage III NSCLC, neoCT/IO appears to be a safe approach and may offer better survival outcomes compared with cCRT + IO. Prospective randomized trials are needed to further validate these findings.