Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT), which has been the standard-of-care for resectable NSCLC, resulted only in modest survival benefits of approximately 5 %. However, CT combined with neoadjuvant immunotherapy is a promising strategy in improving survival outcomes of patients with resectable NSCLC. Hence, several small single-arm phase II studies are ongoing in this setting, all including patients with stage III disease.
Interleukin-8 (IL-8), also known as chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 8, is a pro-inflammatory chemokine that exerts direct pro-tumorigenic effects primarily by recruiting immunosuppressive cells into the tumor microenvironment such as neutrophils and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. IL-8 has also been shown to promote cancer progression and resistance to therapy, by inducing angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and cancer stem cell (CSC) self-renewal.
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for about 15 % of all diagnosed cases of lung cancer and is characterized by a high proliferative rate, an early development of widespread metastases and a poor prognosis. The five-year survival rate is less than 7 %. More than two-thirds of patients with this highly aggressive neuroendocrine tumor are diagnosed with advanced or extensive-stage disease (ES-SCLC).
The ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress took place in Geneva, Switzerland, and virtually from 7th to 9th December 2022. In total, more than 2,000 participants from more than 100 countries attended one of the 31 sessions featuring over 249 presented abstracts, 6 late breaking abstracts, 6 proffered paper, 14 mini orals and 229 posters.
