Cancer Research on Prevention and Treatment 2025;52(11):913-925

doi:10.3971/j.issn.1000-8578.2025.25.0508

Developing Effective Strategies to Overcome Immunotherapy Resistance in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Directly Targeting Cancer Cells

Qing HUANG 1 ; Jiaqi XIAO 2 ; Sheng HU 1 ; Qian CAI 1

Affiliations

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Keywords

Non-small cell lung cancer; Targeted therapy; Radiotherapy; Chemotherapy; Immune regulation

Country

China

Language

Chinese

Abstract

The development of novel point-to-point drugs targeting resistance mechanisms is a critical and popular research field; nevertheless, success remains challenging. Therefore, given the short survival time and heightened expectations of patients with advanced NSCLC, the design of various combination therapy strategies––integrating preclinical, clinical, and real-world evidence (such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, antibody–drug conjugates, oncolytic viruses, and cell therapy)––may be a wise and practical choice to address the disease. Resistance to immunotherapy involves almost all cell types in the body, primarily cancer cells and T cells involved in immune surveillance. As a result of space limitations, this article focuses on the progress and challenges of various combined strategies for directly eliminating cancer cells. We also emphasize the realignment of treatment goals, shifting from primarily focusing on eliminating cancer cells (via chemotherapy and radiotherapy) to fully utilizing immune regulation to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.