Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy—a promising strategy for primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma

Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy has been a promising choice for patients with locally advanced non-small cell cancer (NSCLC). However, whether neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy impacted the subsequent surgical or pathological outcomes of patients with pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (PLELC) remains relatively unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in PLELC patients.

A retrospective study was conducted on patients who received neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in combination with chemotherapy followed by surgery between 2019 and 2022. The clinical records of the patients were analyzed.

Among the 31 patients with PLELC who underwent neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy followed by surgery, 18 patients (58.0%) experienced tumor downstaging. Nineteen patients (61.5%) achieved a partial response, 2 patients (6.4%) achieved a complete response, and 2 (6.4%) exhibited progressive disease. Pathological evaluation of resected specimens revealed that 8 (25.8%) patients achieved major pathological response (MPR), and 2 (6.4%) pathological complete response (PCR). The mean disease-free survival (DFS) was 17.4 months, which was not significantly different from the value in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSQ) patients (15.1 months, P = 0.54)).

Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy is a safe and effective approach to reduce the extent of tumor, render unresectable to resectable, and offer an opportunity to receive modified surgery, which may be a promising strategy for patients with PLELC.