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Treatment Options for Resected/Resectable Stage IIIA NSCLC
Source: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: May 15, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary.
Context: Treatment of Stage IIIA NSCLC
Treatment options for resected/resectable disease include:
Surgery with neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy.
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Neoadjuvant therapy.
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Neoadjuvant therapy.
Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy.
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Neoadjuvant therapy.
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chemotherapy.
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Neoadjuvant therapy. › Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chemotherapy.
Nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy.
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Perioperative (neoadjuvant and adjuvant) immunotherapy with chemotherapy.
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Perioperative (neoadjuvant and adjuvant) immunotherapy with chemotherapy.
Perioperative pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy.
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Perioperative (neoadjuvant and adjuvant) immunotherapy with chemotherapy.
Perioperative durvalumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy.
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Perioperative (neoadjuvant and adjuvant) immunotherapy with chemotherapy.
Perioperative nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy.
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Perioperative (neoadjuvant and adjuvant) immunotherapy with chemotherapy.
Perioperative toripalimab plus platinum-based chemotherapy.
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Adjuvant therapy.
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Adjuvant therapy.
Adjuvant targeted therapy (for patients with EGFR variants).
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Adjuvant therapy.
Adjuvant targeted therapy (for patients with ALK variants).
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Adjuvant therapy.
Adjuvant chemoradiation therapy.
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Despite careful preoperative staging, some patients will be found to have metastases to mediastinal N2 lymph nodes at thoracotomy.
The preponderance of evidence indicates that postoperative cisplatin combination chemotherapy provides a significant survival advantage to patients with resected NSCLC with occult N2 disease discovered at surgery. The optimal sequence of surgery and chemotherapy and the benefits and risks of postoperative radiation therapy in patients with resectable NSCLC are yet to be determined.
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Preserved source evidence · Not medical advice