Skip to main content
OncologyClinical Question·Updated Jul 3, 2026·v1

Role of immunotherapy in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Evidence-based overview of Role of immunotherapy in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Moderate Evidence32 references·1,480 words·6 min read·v1
Oncologyrole of immunotherapy in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (nsclc)
This page covers Role of immunotherapy in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a topic in Oncology.

Deep Dive — Evidence Details

References

  1. [1]

    Kidane B, Bott M, Spicer J et al.. The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) 2023 Expert Consensus Document: Staging and multidisciplinary management of patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery (2023). PMID: 37306641

    L5GUIDELINECited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard, On the Horizon
  2. [2]

    Scherpereel A, Martin E, Brouchet L et al.. Reaching multidisciplinary consensus on the management of non-bulky/non-infiltrative stage IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (2023). PMID: 36682142

    L5GUIDELINECited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard, On the Horizon
  3. [3]

    . [Chinese Medical Association guideline for clinical diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer (2025 edition)]. Zhonghua zhong liu za zhi [Chinese journal of oncology] (2025). PMID: 40796288

    L5GUIDELINECited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  4. [4]

    Bertoglio P, Gallina FT, Balzani E et al.. Surgical outcomes after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for resectable NSCLC: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology (2026). PMID: 42000405

    L1SR_OBSCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  5. [5]

    Barbosa S, de Siqueira Silva A, Rodrigues LB. Robotic-assisted versus video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for non-small cell lung cancer after neoadjuvant immunotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of robotic surgery (2026). PMID: 41931195

    L1SR_OBSCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  6. [6]

    Liu W, Feng Z, Zhang M et al.. Predicting neoadjuvant immunotherapy efficacy with machine learning models in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta analysis. International journal of medical informatics (2026). PMID: 41719848

    L1SR_OBSCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  7. [7]

    Spicer JD, Cascone T, Wynes MW et al.. Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Treatments for Early Stage Resectable NSCLC: Consensus Recommendations From the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (2024). PMID: 38901648

    L5OTHERCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard, On the Horizon
  8. [8]

    Kim SS, Cooke DT, Kidane B et al.. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Expert Consensus on the Multidisciplinary Management and Resectability of Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. The Annals of thoracic surgery (2024). PMID: 39424119

    L5REVIEW_NARRATIVECited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard, On the Horizon
  9. [9]

    Mitome N, Hamada A, Wakabayashi M et al.. A Multi-Institutional Randomized Phase III Trial of Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy Followed By Surgery Versus Upfront Surgery in Patients With Resectable Clinical Stage II-III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: JCOG2317 (NATCH-ICI). Clinical lung cancer (2026). PMID: 42107198

    L1RCTCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  10. [10]

    Provencio M, Awad MM, Spicer JD et al.. Clinical outcomes with perioperative nivolumab by nodal status in patients with stage III resectable NSCLC: phase 3 CheckMate 77T exploratory analysis. Nature cancer (2026). PMID: 41507539

    L1RCTCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard, Applicability and Caveats
  11. [11]

    Tanaka F, Watanabe Y, Sugawara S et al.. Perioperative Nivolumab in Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Subanalysis of Japanese Patients From CheckMate 77T. Cancer science (2025). PMID: 41431434

    L1RCTCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard, Applicability and Caveats
  12. [12]

    Cuppens K, Wiesweg M, Baas P et al.. Long-term outcomes of preoperative nivolumab with or without relatlimab in patients with resectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NEOpredict-Lung). European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990) (2025). PMID: 41389771

    L1RCTCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard, Applicability and Caveats
  13. [13]

    Wang C, Wang W, Liu H et al.. Perioperative tislelizumab plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with resectable non-small-cell lung cancer: final analysis of the randomized RATIONALE-315 trial. Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology (2025). PMID: 41344593

    L1RCTCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  14. [14]

    Martin LW, Wang X, Kozono D et al.. CHIO3: CHemotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor for operable stage IIIA/B (N2) Non-Small cell lung cancer (AFT-46). Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (2026). PMID: 41880691

    L4TRIAL_NONRANDOMCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  15. [15]

    Yan Y, Han Y, Niu Z et al.. Conversion Surgery After Induction Therapy for Initially Unresectable Stage III Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Proof-of-Concept Trial. Annals of surgical oncology (2026). PMID: 41880079

    L4TRIAL_NONRANDOMCited in: Bottom Line, Current Evidence and Standard
  16. [16]

    Zhai W, Liang D, Yu X et al.. Surgery after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy versus immuno-chemoradiotherapy in patients with cN3 non-small cell lung cancer: A cohort study in two academic centers. Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (2026). PMID: 41980306

    L3COHORTCited in: Current Evidence and Standard
  17. [17]

    Pan Y, Sun C, Xu H et al.. Pathologic response and nodal status guide adjuvant immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy: An eastern Asian cohort study. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery (2026). PMID: 41765326

    L3COHORTCited in: Current Evidence and Standard
  18. [18]

    Zhang W, Dai T, Wang D et al.. Efficacy of neoadjuvant PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor in resectable NSCLC: a meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials. BMC cancer (2024). PMID: 39696048

    L1SR_MA_RCTCited in: Applicability and Caveats, On the Horizon
  19. [19]

    de Moraes FCA, Pasqualotto E, de Oliveira Rodrigues ALS et al.. Racial/ethnic differences in survival and treatment response with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in resectable non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. European journal of clinical pharmacology (2024). PMID: 39542906

    L1SR_MA_RCTCited in: Applicability and Caveats
  20. [20]

    Teodonio L, Peritore V, Andreetti C. Current indications for surgery in patients with lung cancer after neoadjuvant targeted therapy: a systematic review. Updates in surgery (2025). PMID: 40996635

    L2SR_OBSCited in: Applicability and Caveats
  21. [21]

    Zhang Z, Lin Y, Chen S. Efficacy of neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and perioperative immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer across different PD-L1 expression levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in immunology (2025). PMID: 40463367

    L1SR_OBSCited in: Applicability and Caveats
  22. [22]

    Yang X, Xing Z, Long S et al.. Comparative effectiveness for early-stage NSCLC without lymph node involvement based on prospective studies. International journal of surgery (London, England) (2025). PMID: 40434735

    L1SR_OBSCited in: Applicability and Caveats
  23. [23]

    Liu Y, Long J, Deng H et al.. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy for NSCLC: superior combination strategies, optimal treatment cycles, and predictive indicators from a Bayesian meta-analysis. Frontiers in immunology (2025). PMID: 40213564

    L1SR_OBSCited in: Applicability and Caveats
  24. [24]

    Nuccio A, Salomone F, Servetto A et al.. Neoadjuvant vs perioperative chemo-immunotherapy according to pathological response in resectable non-small cell lung cancer: a reconstructed individual patient data meta-analysis. Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2025). PMID: 40210599

    L1SR_OBSCited in: Applicability and Caveats
  25. [25]

    . [Chinese Medical Association guideline for clinical diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer (2023 edition)]. Zhonghua zhong liu za zhi [Chinese journal of oncology] (2023). PMID: 37460438

    L5GUIDELINECited in: On the Horizon
  26. [26]

    Chen K, Wang X, Yue R et al.. Efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors as neoadjuvant therapy in perioperative patients with non-small cell lung cancer: a network meta-analysis and systematic review based on randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in immunology (2024). PMID: 39416776

    L1SR_MA_RCTCited in: On the Horizon
  27. [27]

    Patel AJ, Hemead H, Law J et al.. Impact of the timing of immunotherapy administration on overall survival for resectable non-small cell lung cancer (iACORN study): A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials. European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990) (2024). PMID: 39551030

    L1SR_OBSCited in: On the Horizon
  28. [28]

    Marinelli D, Nuccio A, Di Federico A et al.. Improved Event-Free Survival After Complete or Major Pathologic Response in Patients With Resectable NSCLC Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy Regardless of Adjuvant Treatment: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (2024). PMID: 39389220

    L1SR_OBSCited in: On the Horizon
  29. [29]

    Han Y, Xiao X, Qin T et al.. Efficacy and safety of perioperative immunotherapy combinations for resectable non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII (2024). PMID: 39382658

    L1SR_OBSCited in: On the Horizon
  30. [30]

    Zhou N, Leung CH, William WN et al.. Impact of select actionable genomic alterations on efficacy of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in resectable non-small cell lung cancer. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer (2024). PMID: 39448200

    L2RCTCited in: On the Horizon
  31. [31]

    Ross HJ, Kozono D, Wang XF et al.. Atezolizumab Before and After Chemoradiation for Unresectable Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Phase II Nonrandomized Controlled Trial. JAMA oncology (2024). PMID: 39052256

    L2RCTCited in: On the Horizon
  32. [32]

    Papaporfyriou A, Bartziokas K, Apessos I et al.. Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy with Nivolumab vs. Pembrolizumab in Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review. Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) (2024). PMID: 39451773

    L5SR_OBSCited in: On the Horizon

Revision History

All updates applied to this page

Loading revisions…