Adding Nivolumab to Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy Might Extend Survival for Patients with Early-Stage NSCLC

For patients with inoperable stage I or II node-negative non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the standard therapy is stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). Despite local control, regional and systemic recurrences are unfortunately common. Because immunotherapy after chemoradiation for stage III, locally advanced NSCLC improves progression-free and overall survival, investigators wanted to understand its utility in earlier-stage NSCLC.

In this industry-supported, phase 2, open-label trial, 156 people with stage I or II NSCLC or with isolated parenchymal (<7 cm) node-negative NSCLC were randomized to either SABR alone or SABR plus nivolumab (I-SABR). SABR was given at 50 Gy in 4 once-daily fractions or 70 Gy in 10 once-daily fractions. Niv…