Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40809264›Full record

ArticleJournal of thoracic disease2025

Short-term results of salvage surgery after immune and target therapies in non-small cell lung cancer.

Marco Chiappetta, Carolina Sassorossi, Filippo Lococo, Francesco Guerrera, Enrico Ruffini, Paraskevas Lyberis, Eleonora Della Beffa, Stefano Cafarotti, Miriam Patella, Stefania Freguia and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of thoracic disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Marco ChiappettaThoracic Surgery Unit, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3807-6911
Carolina SassorossiThoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Filippo LococoThoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Francesco GuerreraDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, University of Turin, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Enrico RuffiniDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, University of Turin, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Paraskevas LyberisDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, University of Turin, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Eleonora Della BeffaDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, University of Turin, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Stefano CafarottiThoracic Surgery Department, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Bellinzona, Switzerland.
Miriam PatellaThoracic Surgery Department, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Bellinzona, Switzerland.
Stefania FreguiaInstitute of Pathology, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Locarno, Switzerland.
Alessandra CancellieriUnit of Pathology, Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Khrystina KuzmychThoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Diepriye Charles-DaviesDipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Emilio BriaThoracic Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Stefano MargaritoraThoracic Surgery, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: In the last years, the knowledge about the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) biology led to development of target therapies and immunotherapy. However, most indication were to advanced stages, with large nodal involvement or presence of distant metastases. However, the clinical response may be unpredictable, and in some cases, it is possible to see a large clinical response with resolution of the parameter that contraindicated surgical treatment. In these cases, surgery could be re-considered, performing a salvage surgery approach, but evidences regarding the feasibility of this approach in these clinical scenarios are still missing. The objective of this study is to describe the clinical, surgical and pathological characteristics of patients who underwent salvage surgery after target therapy or immunotherapy, for initially non-resectable NSCLC. Methods: Data of patients undergone salvage surgery after target therapy or immunotherapy from three different centres from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2022 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results: The final analysis was led on 30 patients meeting inclusion criteria. Preoperatively, 22 patients presented stage III disease, 8 presented stage IV. For 22 patients without distant metastases, initial contraindication to surgery was due to bulky/multi-stations N2 involvement, advanced tumor (T) stage with concomitant N1/N2 involvement, N3 involvement. Target therapy mutations were anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement (treated with alectinib) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; treated with gefitinib, osimertinib and afatinib) in 8 total cases. Other 22 patients underwent immunotherapy alone or in association with chemotherapy in 4 cases. Surgery consisted mostly of lobectomy/bilobectomy (27 patients), and was considered feasible in all cases but 2, with local involvement. No peri-operative mortality was reported. Complications occurred in 6 (20%) and the length of stay was averagely 5.9±2.8 days. Pathological examination showed downstaging in 26 patients, with 11 (36%) patients that presenting pathological complete response (pCR). pCR occurred in 37% adenocarcinoma and 33% squamous cell carcinomas. Complete pathological response was observed in 10 out of 22 patients treated with immunotherapy, 1 patient treated with alectinib. Median follow up was 12 months. Five patients had recurrence and 4 died due to cancer related causes. Conclusions: Salvage surgery after target therapy or immunotherapy resulted to be a possible approach in selected patients.

Indexed as

adjuvant therapyimmunotherapyLung cancernon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)salvage surgery

Identifiers

PMID40809264
PMCPMC12340349

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.