Dr. Kim on the Safety of Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Surgical Patients With Lung Cancer

Jae Y. Kim, MD, chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, assistant professor, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, discusses the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in surgical patients with lung cancer.

Checkpoint inhibition has been shown to be effective in patients with metastatic lung cancer, but its role in earlier-stage lung cancer in patients who are treated surgically is unknown. There have been phase II neoadjuvant trials that have investigated CTLA-4 blockade and PD-1 inhibition for patients who have gone onto surgery.

The information from the trials has shown that neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibition is safe prior to patients undergoing surgery. In one trial, 2 of the patients were delayed due to some resulting toxicity, but were ultimately able to undergo surgery.