Even when resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors occurs, doctors are not helpless. Combining the NCCN Guidelines for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) 7th Edition 2017 and the CSCO Guidelines for the Management of Primary Lung Cancer 2018 Edition, the current treatment of NSCLC in China can be summarized in the table below. When PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors fail, chemotherapy can still be used.
In addition to guideline-recommended chemotherapy regimens, switching to another immune checkpoint inhibitor is an option, and there are exploratory studies that have found that PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combined with other immunotherapies (including CTLA-4 antibodies, LAG-3 antibodies, etc.), chemotherapy, and radiation therapy may resist resistance.
Co-reviewed by: Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital Guangdong Provincial Lung Cancer Institute Dr. Wang Zhen, Deputy Chief Physician Dr. Kai Yin