Pembrolizumab and chemotherapy for resectable nonsmall-cell lung cancer

Pembrolizumab in combination with platinum doublet chemotherapy is in clinical development as
neoadjuvant therapy followed by pembrolizumab adjuvant monotherapy for adults with
resectable stage II, IIIA and resectable IIIB (T3-4N2) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC
is the most common type of lung cancer. T3-4 broadly refers to the size of the tumour (greater
than 5cm) and N2 refers to the cancer being in the lymph nodes in the centre of the chest or
windpipe of the lungs. These stages of lung cancer have not spread to other parts of the body and
can be treated with resection (surgery to remove either part of or the whole of the lung) and
adjuvant (additional treatment given after the primary treatment) chemotherapy and/or
radiotherapy. However, the long-term outlook for patients undergoing this treatment pathway is
still poor. Treatment with medicines prior to surgery (neoadjuvant) may provide better long-term
survival prospects for patients with early-stage operable NSCLC.