WCLC 2022 | Survival outcomes of metastatic pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma treated with immunotherapy

Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a rare subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), associated with aggressive disease course, refractoriness to chemotherapy, and poor survival. Previously reports have demonstrated PSC responds well to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in small case reports/series. However, whether PSC remains to be associated with poor prognosis compared to other NSCLC when treated with IO is unclear. Lei Deng, MD , Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, provides an overview of an investigation using US national database, NCBD, to uncover whether PSC is associated with worse outcomes than squamous NSCLC when treated with immunotherapy, like in the era of chemotherapy. When treated with immunotherapy, PSC was not found to be associated with worse survival versus squamous NSCLC. This interview took place at the IASLC 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer congress in Vienna, Austria.