What is on the Horizon Beyond Platinum and Immunotherapy for Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Without Actionable Genomic Aberrations?

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. While targeted therapy and immunotherapy have transformed first-line management, most patients without actionable genomic alterations (AGAs) will experience disease progression within the first year of their initial treatment. Here, we review pivotal trials, emerging strategies, challenges, and unmet needs for patients with advanced NSCLC without AGAs. Docetaxel with or without ramucirumab is the standard second-line therapy for patients who have progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Targeted therapy is only suitable for patients with specific AGAs. Understanding the hallmarks of cancer immune evasion is key to developing new strategies beyond chemoimmunotherapy. The combination of antiangiogenic agents with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has shown mixed results after progression on platinum and ICI. Bispecific antibodies, particularly ivonescimab, have shown encouraging early efficacy in this space. Artificial intelligence-driven pathomics and radiomics tools may help to refine treatment selection in the future. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy remains investigational. Patients with advanced NSCLC without AGAs who progressed after chemoimmunotherapy have limited treatment options. Novel therapies such as specific antibodies have shown promising results. Future progress will depend on the development of predictive biomarkers and understanding the mechanisms of resistance to ICIs to guide drug development.