Patients with resectable stage IIB–IIIB non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with perioperative atezolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy experienced a median event-free survival of 62.8 months compared with 34.9 months for patients receiving chemotherapy alone. However, these results did not reach statistical significance, according to final results from the phase III IMpower030 trial.
These results were presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in Seoul, Republic of Korea (Abstract OA04.03).
The study also demonstrated higher pathologic response rates with the atezolizumab regimen. Pathologic complete response rates reached 30.6% vs 8.6%, while major pathologic response rates were 54.3% vs 24.9% compared with placebo plus chemotherapy.
Although the trial did not meet its predefined threshold for statistical significance, investigators reported improvements across multiple efficacy endpoints, including independent review facility–assessed event-free survival, investigator-assessed event-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival.
Surgical cancellation rates remained low and similar between treatment groups, and no new safety signals were identified. Adverse events occurred more frequently during neoadjuvant therapy than during the adjuvant phase in both treatment arms.
“Although the study did not achieve its primary endpoint, these long-term findings demonstrate improvements across several important outcomes and further support the role of perioperative immunotherapy for patients with resectable NSCLC,” said presenting author Benjamin Solomon, MD, of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
