Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Evidence-Based Practice Updates

Panelists discuss how comprehensive biomarker testing is essential for all patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer, with thoracic specialists emphasizing the importance of testing primary tumor samples and lymph nodes to identify actionable mutations that guide treatment decisions and inform patients about their therapeutic journey, particularly as targeted therapies and immunotherapies continue to advance in early-stage and locally advanced disease settings.

EP. 1: Integrating Biomarker Testing Into Early-Stage NSCLC Care

September 30th 2025

Panelists discuss how comprehensive biomarker testing is essential for all patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with thoracic specialists emphasizing the importance of testing primary tumor samples and lymph nodes to identify actionable mutations that guide treatment decisions and inform patients about their therapeutic journey, particularly as targeted therapies and immunotherapies continue to advance in early-stage and locally advanced disease settings.

EP. 2: Expanding Access to Biomarker Testing in Early-Stage NSCLC

October 7th 2025

Panelists discuss how surgeon-led ultrasound-guided biopsies can expedite care timelines and overcome barriers to guideline-concordant biomarker testing that still affects one-third of eligible patients.

EP. 3: Integrating Biomarker Results Into Treatment Planning for NSCLC

October 7th 2025

Panelists discuss how to manage the waiting period for biomarker results while balancing urgency in curable patients, emphasizing the importance of tissue-based testing over liquid biopsies in early-stage disease.

EP. 4: Streamlining Surgical Tissue Coordination for Biomarker Testing in Early-Stage NSCLC

October 7th 2025

Panelists discuss how multidisciplinary coordination and early communication between surgical, pulmonary, and oncology teams ensures adequate tissue procurement for molecular testing from the initial biopsy.

EP. 5: Surgical Decision-Making: Resectable vs Borderline Resectable NSCLC

October 14th 2025

Panelists discuss how resectability determination remains surgeon-dependent and institution-specific, requiring careful consideration of both technical feasibility (“can you”) and appropriateness (“should you”) for individual patients.

EP. 6: Managing Early-Stage NSCLC Post Neoadjuvant Therapy in Patients Who Are Not Surgery Candidates

October 14th 2025

Panelists discuss how to pivot treatment plans when patients cannot proceed to surgery after induction therapy, emphasizing the importance of determining resectability up front and having multidisciplinary contingency plans.

EP. 7: Defining Surgical Candidacy in Newly Diagnosed Early-Stage NSCLC

October 21st 2025

Panelists discuss how most patients with early-stage disease who would benefit from systemic therapy should receive neoadjuvant treatment, with direct surgery reserved mainly for those with medical contraindications to immunotherapy.

EP. 8: Balancing Surgery, Radiation, and Targeted Therapy in Early-Stage NSCLC

October 21st 2025

Panelists discuss how treatment selection for early-stage disease depends on lymph node metastasis risk, with SBRT considered for very low-risk peripheral tumors and surgery preferred when staging information is needed.

EP. 9: Optimizing Care in Unresectable Stage III NSCLC: Chemoradiation and Immunotherapy

October 28th 2025

Panelists discuss how concurrent chemoradiation remains standard, when possible, with sequential approaches for frail patients, and consolidation immunotherapy recommended regardless of the initial radiation approach.

EP. 10: Defining Surgical Eligibility in N2 Early-Stage NSCLC

October 28th 2025

Panelists discuss how multistation N2 disease is no longer an absolute contraindication to surgery, with treatment decisions based on biology rather than just nodal station number, though bulky vs invasive disease characteristics matter.

EP. 11: Clinical Impact of Incorporation of Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy in Early-Stage NSCLC

November 4th 2025

Panelists discuss how the rapid integration of immunotherapy and targeted therapies into perioperative care requires constant practice updates and individualized decision-making based on pathologic response and patient characteristics.

EP. 12: Best Practices for Use of Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Resectable Early-Stage NSCLC

November 4th 2025

Panelists discuss how restaging practices vary widely, with most favoring CT imaging over routine invasive restaging, while debating the optimal number of induction cycles (3 vs 4) and timing of surveillance.

EP. 13: Integrating Radiation Therapy With Neoadjuvant IO in Early-Stage NSCLC

November 11th 2025

Panelists discuss how to carefully manage radiation therapy after induction immunotherapy in surgically ineligible patients, treating only visible disease and considering additional immunotherapy based on patient tolerance and response.

EP. 14: Treatment Strategies for Stage IIIB/N2 and High-Risk Early-Stage NSCLC

November 11th 2025

Panelists discuss how stage IIIB treatment decisions require individual assessment, with surgery considered for selected T3/T4 tumors but not routinely for N3 disease, while postoperative radiation is generally not recommended.

EP. 15: Cost-Effectiveness and Closing Perspectives in Early-Stage NSCLC

November 18th 2025

Panelists discuss how financial toxicity and cost-effectiveness analyses highlight the importance of appropriate patient selection for perioperative immunotherapy, while emphasizing that multidisciplinary care and patient involvement remain essential for optimal outcomes.