The Current State of Tumor Microenvironment-Specific Therapies for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Exploration of the tumor microenvironment (TME) has resulted in dramatic advancements in the treatment of NSCLC through the advent of immunotherapy. Indeed, anti-programmed death (PD) ligand 1/PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor therapy has substantially improved survival for advanced, unresectable disease and is now being increasingly utilized in the perioperative setting for early-stage, resectable tumors. This success has generated vigorous interest in exploring other cellular players in the NSCLC TME that could be potentially targeted for therapeutic benefit. In this review, we discuss the current state of therapeutic targets in the NSCLC TME, reflect on the revolution of immunotherapy and future directions for its utilization, and reflect on how the current investigations into TME-specific targets may impact thoracic surgical care.