BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is currently the most prevalent malignancy and the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Although the early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presents a relatively good prognosis, a considerable number of lung cancer cases are still detected and diagnosed at locally advanced or late stages. Surgical treatment combined with perioperative multimodality treatment is the mainstay of treatment for locally advanced NSCLC and has been shown to improve patient survival. Following the standard methods of neoadjuvant therapy, perioperative management, postoperative adjuvant therapy, and other therapeutic strategies are important for improving patients' prognosis and quality of life. However, controversies remain over the perioperative management of NSCLC and presently consensus and standardized guidelines are lacking for addressing critical clinical issues in multimodality treatment. METHODS: The working group consisted of 125 multidisciplinary experts from thoracic surgery, medical oncology, radiotherapy, epidemiology, and psychology. This guideline was developed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. The clinical questions were collected and selected based on preliminary open-ended questionnaires and subsequent discussions during the Guideline Working Group meetings. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for available evidence. The GRADE system was used to evaluate the quality of evidence and grade the strengths of recommendations. Finally, the recommendations were developed through a structured consensus-building process. RESULTS: The Guideline Development Group initially collected a total of 62 important clinical questions. After a series of consensus-building conferences, 24 clinical questions were identified and corresponding recommendations were ultimately developed, focusing on neoadjuvant therapy, perioperative management, adjuvant therapy, postoperative psychological rehabilitation, prognosis assement, and follow-up protocols for NSCLC. CONCLUSIONS This guideline puts forward reasonable recommendations focusing on neoadjuvant therapy, perioperative management, adjuvant therapy, postoperative psychological rehabilitation, prognosis assessment, and follow-up protocol of NSCLC. It standardizes perioperative multimodality treatment and provides guidance for clinical practice among thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiotherapists, aiming to reduce postoperative recurrence, improve patient survival, accelerate recovery, and minimize postoperative complications such as atelectasis.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/therapy* ; Lung Neoplasms/therapy* ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Perioperative Care

Objective:To analyze the safety and short-term efficacy of thoracic radiotherapy combined with anlotinib in the treatment of inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:A prospective study was conducted on patients with unresectable locally advanced NSCLC who were intolerant to concurrent chemoradiotherapy and treated at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, from October 2020 to September 2023. Anlotinib was administered orally concurrently with radiotherapy (days 1-14, 21 days per cycle, for 3 cycles). Adverse effects and short-term tumor recurrence were observed from the beginning of radiotherapy to the 3-month post-radiotherapy. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates from the date of initial treatment (induction therapy), and intergroup comparisons were performed using the log-rank test.Results:The median age was 62 years (range:42-76 years), with a male predominance ( n=36, 88%) of the included 41 patients. The incidence of grade 3-4 acute hematologic adverse events was 20% (8 cases); the incidence of grade 3 hemoptysis was 2% (1 case), with no grade 4 hemoptysis; the incidence of grade 3-4 radiation pneumonitis was 10% (4 cases). No grade 5 adverse events were observed in the entire cohort. With a median follow-up of 19.7 months (range: 7.1-50.1 months), 19 patients (46%) experienced recurrence, including 4 patients (10%) with local recurrence, 6 patients (15%) with regional lymph node recurrence, and 11 patients (27%) with distant metastases. The 1-year PFS rate was 78.3%. 8 patients (20%) died, including 3 patients died from COVID-19 infection during the follow-up period, 1 patient who died from hypostatic pneumonia due to prolonged bed rest after cerebral infarction, and 4 patients died from tumor-related causes. The 1-year OS rate was 78.0%. Conclusions:Thoracic radiotherapy combined with anlotinib demonstrates good safety, manageable adverse events, and favorable short-term efficacy in NSCNC patients intolerant to concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Objective:To analyze the efficacy and safety of standard chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (CI) combined with radiotherapy (RT) in driver-gene negative (wild-type) oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with central nervous system involvement.Methods:In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, oligometastatic NSCLC patients receiving first-line chemo-immunotherapy-based therapy were analyzed. Between January 2017 and January 2023, a total of 98 eligible patients were enrolled from the National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital (Beijing/Shenzhen) and Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital. All participants were divided into chemo-immunotherapy (CI) group (28.6%, n=28) and chemo-immuno-radiotherapy (CIR) group (71.4%, n=70) according to whether receiving radiotherapy. Baseline characteristics were well-balanced between two groups, with no statistically significant differences (all P>0.05). The primary endpoint of the study was overall survival (OS), while progression-free survival (PFS) was designated as a key secondary endpoint. Qualitative data were compared by Chi-square test. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier method, and prognostic analysis was performed by multivariate Cox regression models. Results:The median PFS in the CIR and CI groups was 21.8 and 11.5 months, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant ( P=0.211). The median OS in the CIR group was significantly better ( P=0.036) than 25.3 months in the CI group. The median OS in the CIR group was not reached. The 2-year local regional control rates for the whole brain radiotherapy patients, stereotactic radiotherapy / stereotactic radiosurgery patients and CI groups were 33.3% ,100% and 83.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that brain radiotherapy was an independent protective factor for OS in patients with oligometastatic brain metastases at baseline ( HR=0.47, 95% CI=0.22-0.99, P=0.047). Subgroup analysis revealed that patients with 1-3 metastatic lesions benefited from radiotherapy (PFS: HR=0.47, 95% CI=0.22-1.03, P=0.060; OS: HR=0.34, 95% CI=0.12-0.98, P=0.046). Conclusions:For central nervous system involved oligometastatic NSCLC patients, the integration of chemo-immunotherapy with radiotherapy is well tolerated and can improve the efficacy, particularly among those with a limited number of metastatic lesions.

Objective:To evaluate the role of a single PET-CT scan in predicting survival and prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who did not undergo surgery but received radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 23 NSCLC patients treated at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from May 2022 to June 2024. All patients were pathologically confirmed, received neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, did not undergo surgery for various reasons, and instead received radiotherapy. Each patient underwent only one PET-CT scan after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy and before radiotherapy. According to the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) on PET-CT, patients were divided into the low-uptake group (SUV max < 8, n=12) and high-uptake group (SUV max ≥ 8, n=11). Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with survival curves plotted. Univariate analysis of influencing factors of survival was conducted using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of the two groups were compared, including progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results:The 1-year PFS rates were 100% in the low-uptake group, 54.5% in the high-uptake group. This difference was statistically significant ( P=0.007). The 1-year and 2-year OS rates were both 100% in the low-uptake group, the 1-year and 2-year OS rates were both 90.9% in the high-uptake group, with no statistically significant difference ( P=0.394). Univariate Cox analysis identified age as an independent factor affecting PFS. Conclusions:For NSCLC patients who did not undergo surgical resection but received radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, a single PET-CT scan before radiotherapy has potential value in predicting PFS. However, clinical studies with larger sample size and longer follow-up are required to evaluate its predictive value for OS.

Objective:To analyze the prognostic value of systemic inflammatory score (SIS) in patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated by definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) combined with or without consolidation immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI).Methods:The medical record data of 229 patients who received dCRT from January 2014 to December 2017 and 183 patients who received dCRT combined with any form of ICI (induction, concurrent, consolidation or combination) from August 2018 to August 2022 in the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were retrospectively analyzed. Upon admission, 1 and 3 months after treatment (efficacy evaluation) and upon tumor recurrence, peripheral blood count was collected, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and SIS were calculated, respectively. The SIS before, 1 and 3 months after treatment was defined as SIS 0, SIS 1 and SIS 3, respectively. Overall survival (OS) was considered as the primary endpoint. All patients were divided into dCRT group and dCRT+ICI group according to whether received immunotherapy, and then divided into different subgroups based on the cutoff value of SIS determined by X-Tile software. The prognostic value of SIS was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the predictive efficiency. The predictive value of SIS was compared with inflammatory indexes (NLR, PLR) and independent prognostic factors. Results:In the dCRT group, the optimal cutoff value of SIS 0 was 590×10 9 and 530×10 9 in the dCRT+ICIs group. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that SIS 0 was an independent predictive factor of OS, progression - free survival (PFS), local - recurrence free survival (LRFS) and distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) in the dCRT group, but not associated with DMFS in the dCRT+ICI group. In the dCRT group, SIS 1>970×10 9 (optimal cutoff value) predicted poor OS ( HR=2.512, 95% CI=1.622-3.198, P<0.001), PFS ( HR=1.726, 95% CI=1.187-2.509, P=0.004), and DMFS ( HR=1.625, 95% CI=1.029-2.564, P=0.037). In the dCRT+ICI group, SIS 3>1570×10 9 (optimal cutoff value) indicated poor OS ( HR=5.107, 95% CI=1.731-15.069, P=0.003). In both groups, the AUC of SIS was higher than NLR, PLR and other traditional clinicopathological predictive indexes except T stage. Conclusions:SIS before treatment can be considered as an independent, dependable and easily acquired prognostic marker in patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ NSCLC treated by dCRT or dCRT+ICI. In the dCRT+ICI group, the optimal time point of post-radiotherapy SIS (3 months after treatment) is postponed than that (1 month after treatment) in the dCRT group.

Objective:To investigate the current status of application of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in China, aiming to provide reference for promoting the development of this technology.Methods:From January to March 2024, a questionnaire was designed and distributed online, targeting member units of the Professional Committee of Stereotactic Radiosurgery Treatment, which covers 175 radiotherapy units in 30 provinces and regions nationwide. The survey focused on the current application of SBRT technology and its utilization in the treatment of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A statistical description of the survey results was presented.Results:Of 175 questionnaires distributed, a total of 130 valid responses were collected, with an effective response rate of 74.3%. A total of 81.5% (106/130) of the units had implemented SBRT technology, and 99.1% of the respondents believed it was necessary to further promote SBRT technology, yet the actual training rate was only 67.0%. SBRT equipment configuration: there were a total of 267 SBRT equipment, featuring a diverse range of types, with traditional linear accelerators as the mainstays, accounting for 76.0% ( n=203), followed by 12.0% ( n=32) for TOMO, 6.4% ( n=17) for Cyber knife, 3.7% ( n=10) for Gamma knife, and proton/heavy ion equipment at 1.5% ( n=4), respectively. The percentage of units with multi-leaf collimator leaf widths ≤0.5 cm was 93.4% (99/106). The application of SBRT: the first radiotherapy unit commenced SBRT in 2000, and this technology entered a period of rapid growth after 2015, sustaining a steady increase over the past decade; SBRT technology was mainly applied in the brain, lung, liver, bone, adrenal gland, and kidney, with application rates of 97.2%, 94.3%, 86.8%, 71.7%, 56.6%, and 27.4%, respectively, while the application rates for the pancreas, metastatic lymph nodes, and other parts were less than 5%. Current status of SBRT technology application in early-stage NSCLC: 90.6% (96/106) of units had implemented SBRT; pre-treatment multi-disciplinary diagnosis and treatment accounted for 77% (74/96); the proportion of application units for peripheral and central type lung cancer lesions both exceeded 57.3%, whereas the application rate for ultra-central type and lesions > 5 cm lung cancer was less than 30%; there was significant variability in the selection of reference guidelines, dose fractionation patterns, and the concept of central type among units. Conclusions:The development of SBRT technology in China is in a period of steady growth, but several issues such as low training rate and lack of standardization still exist. The survey results provide important reference for clinical training and promotion of SBRT technology in China.

A growing body of research points out that gut microbiota plays a key role in tumor immunotherapy. By optimizing the composition of intestinal microbiota, it is possible to effectively improve immunotherapy resistance and enhance its therapeutic effect. This article comprehensively analyzes the mechanism of intestinal microbiota influencing tumor immunotherapy resistance, expounds the current strategies for targeted regulation of intestinal microbiota, such as traditional Chinese medicine and plant components, fecal microbiota transplantation, probiotics, prebiotics and dietary therapy, and explores the potential mechanisms of these strategies to improve patients' resistance to tumor immunotherapy. At the same time, the article also briefly discusses the prospects and challenges of targeting intestinal microbiota to improve tumor immunotherapy resistance, which provides a reference for related research to help the strategy research of reversing tumor immunotherapy resistance.

Objective:To analyze the safety and short-term efficacy of thoracic radiotherapy combined with anlotinib in the treatment of inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:A prospective study was conducted on patients with unresectable locally advanced NSCLC who were intolerant to concurrent chemoradiotherapy and treated at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, from October 2020 to September 2023. Anlotinib was administered orally concurrently with radiotherapy (days 1-14, 21 days per cycle, for 3 cycles). Adverse effects and short-term tumor recurrence were observed from the beginning of radiotherapy to the 3-month post-radiotherapy. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates from the date of initial treatment (induction therapy), and intergroup comparisons were performed using the log-rank test.Results:The median age was 62 years (range:42-76 years), with a male predominance ( n=36, 88%) of the included 41 patients. The incidence of grade 3-4 acute hematologic adverse events was 20% (8 cases); the incidence of grade 3 hemoptysis was 2% (1 case), with no grade 4 hemoptysis; the incidence of grade 3-4 radiation pneumonitis was 10% (4 cases). No grade 5 adverse events were observed in the entire cohort. With a median follow-up of 19.7 months (range: 7.1-50.1 months), 19 patients (46%) experienced recurrence, including 4 patients (10%) with local recurrence, 6 patients (15%) with regional lymph node recurrence, and 11 patients (27%) with distant metastases. The 1-year PFS rate was 78.3%. 8 patients (20%) died, including 3 patients died from COVID-19 infection during the follow-up period, 1 patient who died from hypostatic pneumonia due to prolonged bed rest after cerebral infarction, and 4 patients died from tumor-related causes. The 1-year OS rate was 78.0%. Conclusions:Thoracic radiotherapy combined with anlotinib demonstrates good safety, manageable adverse events, and favorable short-term efficacy in NSCNC patients intolerant to concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Objective:To analyze the efficacy and safety of standard chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (CI) combined with radiotherapy (RT) in driver-gene negative (wild-type) oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with central nervous system involvement.Methods:In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, oligometastatic NSCLC patients receiving first-line chemo-immunotherapy-based therapy were analyzed. Between January 2017 and January 2023, a total of 98 eligible patients were enrolled from the National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital (Beijing/Shenzhen) and Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital. All participants were divided into chemo-immunotherapy (CI) group (28.6%, n=28) and chemo-immuno-radiotherapy (CIR) group (71.4%, n=70) according to whether receiving radiotherapy. Baseline characteristics were well-balanced between two groups, with no statistically significant differences (all P>0.05). The primary endpoint of the study was overall survival (OS), while progression-free survival (PFS) was designated as a key secondary endpoint. Qualitative data were compared by Chi-square test. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier method, and prognostic analysis was performed by multivariate Cox regression models. Results:The median PFS in the CIR and CI groups was 21.8 and 11.5 months, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant ( P=0.211). The median OS in the CIR group was significantly better ( P=0.036) than 25.3 months in the CI group. The median OS in the CIR group was not reached. The 2-year local regional control rates for the whole brain radiotherapy patients, stereotactic radiotherapy / stereotactic radiosurgery patients and CI groups were 33.3% ,100% and 83.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that brain radiotherapy was an independent protective factor for OS in patients with oligometastatic brain metastases at baseline ( HR=0.47, 95% CI=0.22-0.99, P=0.047). Subgroup analysis revealed that patients with 1-3 metastatic lesions benefited from radiotherapy (PFS: HR=0.47, 95% CI=0.22-1.03, P=0.060; OS: HR=0.34, 95% CI=0.12-0.98, P=0.046). Conclusions:For central nervous system involved oligometastatic NSCLC patients, the integration of chemo-immunotherapy with radiotherapy is well tolerated and can improve the efficacy, particularly among those with a limited number of metastatic lesions.

Objective:To evaluate the role of a single PET-CT scan in predicting survival and prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who did not undergo surgery but received radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 23 NSCLC patients treated at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from May 2022 to June 2024. All patients were pathologically confirmed, received neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, did not undergo surgery for various reasons, and instead received radiotherapy. Each patient underwent only one PET-CT scan after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy and before radiotherapy. According to the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) on PET-CT, patients were divided into the low-uptake group (SUV max < 8, n=12) and high-uptake group (SUV max ≥ 8, n=11). Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with survival curves plotted. Univariate analysis of influencing factors of survival was conducted using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of the two groups were compared, including progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results:The 1-year PFS rates were 100% in the low-uptake group, 54.5% in the high-uptake group. This difference was statistically significant ( P=0.007). The 1-year and 2-year OS rates were both 100% in the low-uptake group, the 1-year and 2-year OS rates were both 90.9% in the high-uptake group, with no statistically significant difference ( P=0.394). Univariate Cox analysis identified age as an independent factor affecting PFS. Conclusions:For NSCLC patients who did not undergo surgical resection but received radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, a single PET-CT scan before radiotherapy has potential value in predicting PFS. However, clinical studies with larger sample size and longer follow-up are required to evaluate its predictive value for OS.