A pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and immunotherapy in a non-small cell lung cancer patient

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have lower overall survival. Studies have shown that some patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC develop disease progression after initial chemoradiotherapy, and new treatment is needed to improve the prognosis of these patients. The rapid development of therapy has greatly changed and continued to renew the treatment strategy of advanced NSCLC. However, the clinical treatment for patients with the wild-type gene remains problematic, and chemotherapy with platinum are not yet considered satisfactory. Herein, we are reporting a case of a patient with wild-type gene mutation locally advanced NSCLC who was treated with neoadjuvant therapy by using combined targeted anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and chemotherapy. The percentage of tumor cells with membranous PD-L1 staining (tumor proportion score) was 90% or greater. After receiving all three cycles of treatment, the patient underwent video-assisted right upper lung lobectomy and wedge resection plus radical mediastinal lymph node dissection. Pathological section samples showed a pathological complete response. This experience has led us to believe that the subgroup of patients with unresectable advanced NSCLC may benefit from this strategy and may have an opportunity for radical surgery.