Immunotherapy treatments approved for stage III non-small cell lung cancer

If you have stage III lung cancer that is treatable by surgery, you may receive immunotherapy prior to or after your surgery. This is called neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment, respectively, and is meant to increase the efficacy of the surgery.

APPROVED THERAPY:
  • Opdivo (nivolumab, a PD-1 Inhibitor) – approved in combination with chemotherapy for stage III NSCLC patients whose cancer can be removed by surgery.
  • Tecentriq (atezolizumab, a PD-L1 Inhibitor) – approved after adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III NSCLC patients with >1% PD-L1 whose cancer can be removed by surgery.

If you have stage III lung cancer that is not treatable by surgery, you will likely have both chemotherapy and radiation. This is sometimes called chemoradiation.  After this is complete, an immunotherapy drug can be given to help keep the cancer from growing or coming back.

APPROVED THERAPY:
  • Imfinzi (durvalumab, a PD-L1 Inhibitor) – approved for stage III NSCLC patients whose cancer cannot be removed by surgery.
  • Keytruda (pembrolizumab, a PD-1 Inhibitor) – approved for stage III NSCLC patients with >1% PD-L1 without chemotherapy.

Click here for answers to frequently asked questions about immunotherapy for lung cancer.