Immunochemotherapy and the search for biomarkers mark a paradigm shift in lung cancer.
The possibilities offered by these treatments in combination with conventional tools, such as chemotherapy, have doubled the five-year survival of patients, as well as the median overall survival in advanced stages. Specifically, the application of immunotherapy and chemotherapy is already a standard of treatment in some lung cancer subtypes with PD-L1 expression <50%.
In addition, the improvement in the selection of patients who are candidates for this type of therapy, thanks to the use of biomarkers, has also contributed to lengthening overall survival in lung cancer patients. Thus, methods such as immunohistochemistry or next-generation sequencing allow a more personalized approach to the tumor, through the study of new therapeutic targets in molecular alterations, such as EGFR gene mutations or ALK gene rearrangements. In this regard, the latest trials support the use of monoclonal antibodies in neoadjuvant form, in combination with chemotherapy, as a new standard of care for patients with unresectable lung cancer alterations in these genes.
