Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer

The emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as a pillar of cancer treatment has emphasized the immune system's integral role in tumor control and progression through cancer immune surveillance. ICIs are being investigated and incorporated into the treatment paradigm for lung cancers across stages and histology. To date, definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by consolidative durvalumab is the only National Comprehensive Cancer Network's recommended treatment paradigm including radiotherapy with ICI in lung cancers, although there are other recommendations for ICI with chemotherapy and/or surgery. This narrative review provides an overall view of the evolving integration and synergistic role of immunotherapy and radiotherapy and outlines the use of immunotherapy with radiotherapy for the management of small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. It also reviews selected, practice-changing clinical trials that led to the current standard of care for lung cancers.

Automated summary

The emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has highlighted the important role of the immune system in cancer treatment. ICIs are being investigated and incorporated into the treatment paradigm for lung cancers at different stages and histology. Currently, definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by consolidative durvalumab is the recommended treatment for lung cancers including radiotherapy with ICI, but there are other recommendations for ICI with chemotherapy and/or surgery.