Perioperative PD-1 Blockade (Nivolumab) + Chemo Pushes 30-mo EFS to 61% in Resectable NSCLC

Nivolumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, given with four neoadjuvant platinum-doublet cycles and up to a year of adjuvant monotherapy (CheckMate 77T, n = 461 stage IIA–IIIB) achieved median event-free survival of 46.6 mo vs 16.9 mo with placebo (HR 0.61) and raised 30-month EFS to 61% vs 43%; overall-survival curves are separating (30-mo OS 78% vs 72%, HR 0.85). Benefit held across PD-L1, histology, KRAS/STK11/KEAP1 status, with ctDNA clearance (56% vs 35%) and pCR predicting even longer remission, while grade ≥3 immune AEs remained low. For comparison, cisplatin-based adjuvant chemo adds only ~5% 5-yr OS and the neoadjuvant-only CheckMate 816 regimen reached 31.6 mo median EFS—highlighting the extra durability from full perioperative coverage.