Atezolizumab with chemo doubles event‑free survival in stage II–IIIB NSCLC

A Phase III study has shown that adding the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab to standard platinum‑based chemotherapy before and after surgery significantly prolongs event‑free survival in patients with resectable stage II–IIIB non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The IMpower030 trial, which enrolled patients undergoing curative‑intent surgery, reported a median event‑free survival of 62.8 months for the atezolizumab‑plus‑chemotherapy group versus 34.9 months for those receiving chemotherapy alone.

The trial’s final analysis confirms the benefit of perioperative atezolizumab, a PD‑L1 checkpoint inhibitor, in this high‑risk population. Patients receiving the combination therapy experienced a nearly two‑fold increase in the duration of disease control compared with chemotherapy alone, underscoring the potential of immunotherapy to improve long‑term outcomes when integrated into the surgical treatment pathway.

These findings support the expanded use of atezolizumab in the perioperative setting for resectable stage II–IIIB NSCLC and may influence future guidelines for multimodal management of this disease.