Feasibility of sleeve lobectomy after neo-adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

Immunotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for patients with advanced lung cancer. In many advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases, the tumor is centrally located. For such patients, sleeve lobectomy has been considered as a more effective therapeutic option compared with pneumonectomy, achieving better long-term survival and quality of life with no increase in morbidity or mortality. Until now, there have been no studies regarding the efficacy and safety of neo-adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy prior to sleeve lobectomy for lung cancer. From January 2019 through October 2019, nine patients were diagnosed as NSCLC and evaluated to undergo sleeve lobectomy surgery (SLS). Of these patients, four received two cycles of pembrolizumab plus paclitaxel and cisplatin (PPC) followed by sleeve lobectomy, while five patients underwent SLS alone. The patients’ clinical characteristics, perioperative parameters, and postoperative outcomes were analyzed. Multiplex fluorescent immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the number of macrophages, CD4+ and CD8 T cells, and Treg cells in the bronchial mucosa. Three of the four patients achieved a complete pathological response [0% viable tumor, pathologic complete response (pCR)]. All of the patients in the PPC group achieved major pathological response (≤10% viable tumor, MPR). No grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in the PPC group, nor did any of the patients in the group experience treatment-related surgical delays. The mean surgical time and the number of lymph nodes dissected were the same in the two groups. The PPC group had a higher number of CD8 + T cells compared to the SLS group (P<0.01). No postoperative chylothorax, pneumonia, or other postoperative complications occurred in either group. The surgical difficulty and post-surgical complication rate of sleeve lobectomy with neo-adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy were similar to those of SLS alone. Neo-adjuvant chemo-immunotherapy is effective and safe with sleeve lobectomy for NSCLC patients. Additional prospective multi-center randomized studies using larger patient cohorts are necessary to validate our findings.