Five highlights from lung-cancer research

Immunotherapy targets cancer by boosting the immune system’s response to malignant cells. Credit: Garo/Phanie/Science Photo Library Improving survival with immunotherapy Even after a lung tumour has been surgically removed, many patients relapse. Immunotherapy is being explored as a way to reduce the risk of relapse. Previous trials have shown that immunotherapy given before surgery can drastically shrink tumours, but long-term studies are needed to determine whether this strategy also results in fewer cases of relapse. Nature Outlook: Lung cancer A phase III trial led by Patrick Forde at Trinity College Dublin begins to fill that gap. The team recruited 358 people with non-small cell lung cancer — the most common form of the disease — whose tumours were surgically removable. Each person was randomly assigned to receive chemotherapy alone or in combination with the immunotherapy nivolumab. After treatment, all patients underwent surgery. At the end of five years, 65% of participants who received nivolumab plus chemotherapy were still alive, compared with only 55% who received chemotherapy alone. The researchers also searched trial data for biomarkers that might predict outcomes. They found that almost every person whose tumour was completely wiped out before surgery was still alive at the five-year mark, compared with only 56% of those who still had detectable cancer cells. Forde’s team also examined circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in the blood. …