Neoadjuvant therapy of stage III non-small cell lung cancer

Current Approaches to Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Resectable Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

For decades, early-stage resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while potentially curable, has been marred by unacceptably high recurrence rates.

RECENT FINDINGS

Anti-PD(L)1 immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has revolutionized the treatment of advanced NSCLC, and with recent approvals in the peri-operative space, is now poised to transform the systemic treatment paradigm for localized and locally-advanced NSCLC. In this review, we focus on neoadjuvant ICB in resectable NSCLC, highlighting the pre-clinical rationale for neoadjuvant ICB, early clinical trials, randomized phase 3 trial data, and future directions for resectable NSCLC.

Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with PVM (Cisplatin + Vindesine + Mitomycin C) and UFT (Uracil + Tegaful) in resected stage I-II NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer): a randomized clinical trial. West Japan Study Group for lung cancer surgery (WJSG)

OBJECTIVE

The West Japan Study Group For Lung Cancer Surgery (WJSG) conducted a randomized controlled trial in order to assess the usefulness of adjuvant chemotherapy for NSCLC.

METHODS

Patients with completely resected NSCLC (stages I and II) were enrolled in the trial. These patients were randomized into two groups: a surgery alone group; and a chemotherapy group which received intravenous administration of two courses of 4-week PVM chemotherapy (80 mg/m2 of Cisplatin on day 1, 2-3 mg/m2 of Vindesine on day 1 and/or day 8, and 8 mg/m2 of Mitomycin C on day 1), after which they took 400 mg/day of UFT (Uracil + Tegaful) orally for 1 year.

RESULTS

Among 229 patients registered for the study from August 1988 to July 1990, 225 were available cases (116 patients in the surgery alone group, and 109 patients in the chemotherapy group). No bias in prognostic factors could be found between the two groups. The 5-year survival rate was 71.1% for the surgery-alone group and 76.8% for the chemotherapy group with no significant difference observed. However, subset analysis demonstrated that PVM therapy improved the post operative survival of pT1N0 patients (the 5-year survival rate: 75.3% for the surgery alone group, and 90.7% for the chemotherapy group P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

It is interesting to find that among pT1N0 patients, who were not regarded as a target of chemotherapy, those receiving chemotherapy showed significantly better prognostic results. These findings suggest the necessity of further studies on the adjuvant chemotherapy, even in the early stages.

Neoadjuvant and adjuvant trials in non-small cell lung cancer

Adjuvant therapy in non-small cell lung cancer has become a controversial topic during this present decade. Postoperative thoracic irradiation has the potential to decrease local recurrence and lessen the probability of postobstructive pneumonia or atelectasis. However, as a single modality, in several randomized studies, it has failed to have a favorable impact on survival. Most postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy studies, likewise, have not improved survival compared with operation alone. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in preoperative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy in clinical stage IIIA disease, based on two very positive, albeit small, phase III studies. Improved chemotherapy in stage IV disease using newer and more effective agents, such as vinorelbine (Navelbine), paclitaxel (Taxol), or gemcitabine (Gemzar), is now available. It is hoped that the modest gains in stage IV disease can translate to more significant improvement in earlier stage disease.

One hundred and one cases of bronchoplasty for primary lung cancer

The results of 101 consecutive bronchoplasties performed between 1979 and 1993, including 8 cases of pneumonectomy, 88 cases of lobectomy, 3 cases of segmentectomy, and 2 cases of bronchial resection, are herein reported. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common disease (59%) followed by adenocarcinoma (30%) and other diseases (11%). Anastomosis was satisfactory in 96 cases. Among the five stenosed cases, local recurrence was found in two cases, and there were three benign strictures. Two of the three benign strictures were treated with bouginage. The pulmonary artery was concomitantly reconstructed in seven cases with satisfactory results. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy was performed in 15 advanced cases and was followed by acceptable surgical results. The 5-year survival rate, according to the postoperative staging of the 86 patients without induction therapy, was 86% in stage I (19 patients), 49% in stage II (21 patients), and 27% in stage IIIA (40 patients). The overall survival rate was 46% at 5 years. There were two indications for this procedure i.e., a positive resection margin in 59 cases and positive hilar nodes in 42 cases. Better survival was noted in patients with squamous cell carcinoma, stage I, and surgery was thus selected for a positive resection margin, and not for a positive node.

Challenges of preoperative chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

Surgical extirpation of a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents an individual's best opportunity for cure. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of patients present with surgically resectable disease. Many patients are diagnosed with tumor confined to the thorax but which is technically unresectable. In the setting of locally advanced disease, combination chemotherapy is capable of effecting tumor shrinkage in a majority of cases. When this occurs, it is tempting to subject the patient to thoracotomy in an attempt to resect the previously unresectable lesion. Use of chemotherapy in this manner is generally referred to as neoadjuvant or preoperative chemotherapy. Recently, several groups have demonstrated that such an approach is feasible but the impact on patient survival remains ill defined. Further studies designed to ascertain the feasibility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy are no longer warranted. It is time for a prospective, randomized trial designed to determine the true potential of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The optimal design of such a trial is a matter of debate but several options are reasonable. This article will review the available data on preoperative chemotherapy in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer and will review areas of controversy.

A clinical analysis of small-sized lung cancer with advanced disease

A clinical analysis of small-sized lung cancers with advanced disease was conducted on a total of 58 patients: 34 diagnosed as T1N2, 6 as T1N3, 9 as T1M1, and 9 as T4 due to pleural dissemination. The cumulative 5-year survival rate after surgery for the 34 patients with a T1N2 lesion was 17.4%. Of these 34 patients, 24 underwent a curative operation resulting in a 5-year survival rate of 23.7%, but the remaining 10 patients, who underwent a non-curative operation, had a 5-year survival rate of 0%. Extended lymph node dissection for N3 disease has only been performed in recent years, so it is not yet clear whether it will affect the survival rate or not. T4 disease due to pleural dissemination and T1M1 disease associated with intrapulmonary metastasis encountered at thoracotomy could be expected to have relatively long-term survival with the combined use of systemic immunochemotherapy after surgery. In cases diagnosed as T4 due to pleural dissemination, we have recently employed resection of the primary lesion with parietal pleurectomy as the standard operative procedure. For cases of T1M1 with intrapulmonary metastasis confined to the same lobe as the primary lesion, a lobectomy is usually performed, while for cases with intrapulmonary metastasis extending to another lobe, a lobectomy with enucleation of metastatic nodules or pneumonectomy is most often performed instead of an exploratory thoracotomy.

Multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of locally and regionally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: University of Miami experience

An intensive multimodality therapy protocol incorporating neoadjuvant chemotherapy was initiated in July 1985 for patients with either borderline resectable or unresectable non-small cell carcinoma of the lung. Thirty-five patients, 21 men and 14 women were entered till March 1991. The median age was 58 years (27-74). Histology was squamous in 15, adenocarcinoma in 11, large cell in 6, and adenosquamous carcinoma in 3. Initial stages were IIIA in 19 patients, IIIB in 14 and II in 2. All patients tolerated preoperative chemotherapy with 5-FU, etoposide and cisplatin (FED). The response to chemotherapy was complete response in 2 (6%), and partial response in 22 (63%). Thirty-two patients underwent surgery. 26 patients were rendered disease free including two found disease free at surgery. Fifteen underwent pneumonectomy, 14 lobectomy and 3 biopsy only. Interstitial radiation therapy was used in 7 patients. The median survival of all patients was 19 months, those who underwent incomplete surgical resection was 12 months and patients rendered disease free at operation 21 months. Thirteen patients are alive and free of disease, including 6 patients alive longer than 5 years. Only patients who responded to chemotherapy and also had complete resection survived more than 2 years. Aggressive neoadjuvant therapy with FED, followed by resection, brachytherapy, postoperative radiation therapy, and adjuvant chemotherapy can be safely accomplished with encouraging survival in stage III patients.

Non-small cell lung cancer. Part II: Treatment

Squamous, large cell, and adenocarcinoma, collectively termed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), are diagnosed in approximately 75% of patients with lung cancer in the United States. The treatment of these three tumor cell types is approached in virtually identical fashion because, in contrast to small cell carcinoma of the lung, NSCLC more frequently presents with localized disease at the time of diagnosis and is thus more often amenable to surgical resection but less frequently responds to chemotherapy and irradiation. Cigarette smoking is etiologically related to the development of NSCLC in the great majority of cases. Genetic mutations in dominant oncogenes such as K-ras, loss of genetic material on chromosomes 3p, 11p, and 17p, and deletions or mutations in tumor suppressor genes such as rb and p53 have been documented in NSCLC tumors and tumor cell lines. NSCLC is diagnosed because of symptoms related to the primary tumor or regional or distant metastases, as an incidental finding on chest radiograph, or rarely because of a paraneoplastic syndrome such as hypercalcemia or hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy. Screening smokers with periodic chest radiographs and sputum cytologic examination has not been shown to reduce mortality. The diagnosis of NSCLC is usually established by fiberoptic bronchoscopy or percutaneous fine-needle aspiration, by biopsy of a regional or distant metastatic site, or at the time of thoracotomy. Pathologically, NSCLC arises in a setting of bronchial mucosal metaplasia and dysplasia that progressively increase over time. Squamous carcinoma more often presents as a central endobronchial lesion, while large cell and adenocarcinoma have a tendency to arise in the lung periphery and invade the pleura. Once the diagnosis is made, the extent of tumor dissemination is determined. Since most NSCLC patients who survive 5 years or longer have undergone surgical resection of their cancers, the focus of the staging process is to determine whether the patient is a candidate for thoracotomy with curative intent. The dominant prognostic factors in NSCLC are extent of tumor dissemination, ambulatory or performance status, and degree of weight loss. Stages I and II NSCLC, which are confined within the pleural reflection, are managed by surgical resection whenever possible, with approximate 5-year survival of 45% and 25%, respectively. Patients with stage IIIa cancers, in which the primary tumor has extended through the pleura or metastasized to ipsilateral or subcarinal lymph nodes, can occasionally be surgically resected but are often managed with definitive thoracic irradiation and have 5-year survival of approximately 15%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Reappraisal of bronchial arterial infusion therapy for advanced lung cancer

As preoperative adjuvant therapy for advanced lung cancer, bronchial arterial infusion (BAI) of a chemotherapeutic agent was administered to patients with stage IIIa and IIIb hilar lung cancer. The infusion modality was changed for each term, from a single drug infusion, to a two drug infusion and then a three drug infusion, and the combination of infused drugs was selected in accordance with cell types. A significant radiographic shrinkage was observed after BAI therapy by the single, two and three drug infusions, being noted as 40.7 per cent, 61.8 per cent and 83.9 per cent, respectively. The effect on squamous cell carcinoma was more prominent than on other cell types. Upon microscopic examination of the resected specimens, significant histo-pathological effects were observed in 57.7 per cent of the patients who received single or two drug infusions, while the rate increased to as high as 92.2 per cent in the patients who received the three drug infusion. The histological effects of BAI therapy were also most marked in squamous cell carcinoma. It is of special interest that 5 of the 10 patients who received the three drug infusion of Carboquone (CQ) + Mitomycin C (MMC) + Nimustine-HCL (ACNU) for squamous cell carcinoma, showed complete disappearance of viable cancer cells at the tumor site; something which was never observed after the single and two drug infusions. It was therefore concluded that BAI therapy for advanced lung cancer should be reappraised through the modification of infusion methods.

Neoadjuvant treatment in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Any neoadjuvant or preoperative treatment program that would increase survival in clinically advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients would be of significant benefit. In addition to improving patient survival, the program should be associated with minimal toxicity and surgical mortality. The rationale for any preoperative program is that the ability to resect the advanced cancer will be enhanced and micrometastasis will be eradicated. We have analyzed 323 patients enrolled in various types of neoadjuvant and preoperative studies. Review of this data indicates that cisplatin containing regimens produce relatively high responder rates in locally advanced NSCLC patients, resectability rate can be increased by a neoadjuvant program and chemotherapeutic toxicity and operative mortality are not prohibitive. Survival data frequently includes T3N0-1 patients, but there does appear to be increased survival at 3 and 4 years. These studies remain experimental and continued analysis is necessary before they can be accepted as standard therapy for clinically advanced NSCLC cancer.