In the study, published in Nature Cancer, investigators dove deep into the molecular biology of non-small cell lung cancer to pinpoint what happens on a cellular and molecular level over time when the cancer is treated with either radiation therapy followed by immunotherapy or immunotherapy alone.

They found that radiation plus immunotherapy induced a systemic anti-tumor immune response in lung cancers that do not typically respond to immunotherapy. The combination therapy also yielded improved clinical response in patients whose tumors harbor features of immunotherapy resistance.

Clinically, the results suggest that radiation therapy can help overcome immunotherapy resistance in certain patients.