COPD lung disease may actually boost immunotherapy responses in lung cancer patients.

NSCLC patients with COPD respond better to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. COPD-driven epithelial remodeling expands CXCL14+ basal-like tumor cells, which recruit CXCL9+ macrophages via CXCL14-CXCR4 signaling, amplifying cytotoxic T cell infiltration. This tumor-macrophage axis predicts pathological…

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COPD lung disease may actually boost immunotherapy responses in lung cancer patients.

COPD lung disease may actually boost immunotherapy responses in lung cancer patients.

NSCLC patients with COPD respond better to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. COPD-driven epithelial remodeling expands CXCL14+ basal-like tumor cells, which recruit CXCL9+ macrophages via CXCL14-CXCR4 signaling, amplifying cytotoxic T cell infiltration. This tumor-macrophage axis predicts pathological response and is both a biomarker and potential target.

Key Findings

  • NSCLC patients with COPD show superior anti-PD-1 responses
  • COPD epithelial remodeling expands CXCL14+ tumor cells
  • CXCL14-CXCR4 signaling recruits CXCL9+ macrophages
  • Amplified cytotoxic T cell infiltration predicts pathological response

Implications

COPD status could become a positive predictive biomarker for NSCLC immunotherapy. Activating this axis in non-COPD patients may sensitize them to immunotherapy.

Caveats

Editorial commentary; abstract-only. Underlying study details not described. COPD carries health burdens that complicate overall prognosis.

Source: Med — 2026-04-10

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