Outcomes of surgical resection after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in locally advanced stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: This analysis aimed to evaluate perioperative outcomes of surgical resection following neoadjuvant treatment with chemotherapy plus nivolumab in resectable stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer. METHODS: Eligible patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (paclitaxel + carboplatin) plus nivolumab for 3 cycles. Reassessment of the tumour was carried out after treatment and patients with at least stable disease as best response underwent pulmonary resection. After surgery, patients received adjuvant treatment with nivolumab for 1 year. Surgical data were collected from the NADIM database and patient charts were reviewed for additional surgical details. RESULTS: Among 46 patients who received neoadjuvant treatment, 41 (89.1%) underwent surgery. Two patients rejected surgery and 3 did not fulfil resectability criteria. There were 35 lobectomies (85.3%), 3 of which were sleeve lobectomies (9.4%), 3 bilobectomies (7.3%) and 3 pneumonectomies (7.3%). Video-assisted thoracoscopy was the initial approach in 51.2% of cases, with a conversion rate of 19% (n = 4). There was no operative mortality at either 30 or 90 days. The most common complications were prolonged air leak (n = 8), pneumonia (n = 5) and arrhythmia (n = 4). Complete resection (R0) was achieved in all patients who underwent surgery, downstaging was observed in 37 patients (90.2%) and major pathological response in 34 patients (82.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical resection following induction therapy with chemotherapy plus nivolumab appears to be safe and offers appropriate oncological outcomes. Perioperative morbidity and mortality rates in our study were no higher than previously reported in this setting. A minimally invasive approach is, therefore, feasible.

Local recurrence and metastatic disease in a typical N1 carcinoid bronchial tumour.

Typical carcinoid bronchial tumour is a well-known disease that, for years, was considered benign. Currently, it is classified within the group of neuro-endocrine lung tumours. It is a low-grade malignancy tumour with a capability of local and distant recurrence. Complete resection with mediastinal lymphadenectomy is the treatment-of-choice. There are, usually, long-term survivors, even in cases of recurrence or mediastinal node invasion. These patients could benefit from removal of recurrent or metastatic disease. We present, here, a case of a 19-years-old female diagnosed as having N1-bronchial typical carcinoid tumour. She underwent radical surgery, but with mediastinal recurrence and hepatic metastases. A new radical lung resection was performed, and a liver transplant was the therapy-of-choice for the metastatic lesion.