Background: Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) targeting immunotherapies, as pembrolizumab and nivolumab, have significantly improved outcome in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tobacco smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer and is linked to 80%–90% of these cancers. Smoking during cancer therapy may influence on radiotherapy and chemotherapy outcome. We aimed to review the knowledge in immunotherapy... Conclusions: Tobacco smoking patients with NSCLC generally have a higher PD-L1 tumour proportion score and experience a better ORR of immunotherapy than no smokers. There is little evidence on the effect of smoking during immunotherapy, but one study (KEYNOTE-024) may indicate survival gains of smoking cessation. READ ARTICLE
ESMO Open DOI:10.1136/esmoopen-2018-000406
Authors: Jan Norum, Carsten Nieder