Radiation Pneumonitis after Definitive Chemoradiation and Durvalumab for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Pneumonitis is an uncommon but potentially fatal adverse event of both radiotherapy (RT) [1] and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC. [2] Symptomatic radiation (RT-) pneumonitis following chemoradiation can occur in up to 30% of patients, with 1%-16% of them requiring supplemental oxygen and 2% resulting in death. [3 –5] The incidence of ICI-related (ICI-) pneumonitis following anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy or combinations, ranges from 1%-10%. [6,7] Recently, the addition of 1 year of maintenance anti-PD-L1 therapy after definitive chemoradiation has become a new standard-of-care for patients with medically in operable stage III NSCLC.
Source: Lung Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research