SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors exhibit an immunosuppressive microenvironment and respond to combined antiangiogenic and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

BACKGROUND

SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors (SDTT) represent a newly defined and highly aggressive subtype of lung cancer for which no standard therapy has been established. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have demonstrated potential clinical benefit, responses in SDTT are limited and heterogeneous, and the underlying immunologic mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study aimed to characterize the clinicopathologic features, survival outcomes, tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), and treatment responses of SDTT, as well as to explore potential therapeutic strategies.

METHODS

In this retrospective, two-center study, 121 patients with SDTT and a comparative cohort of 132 patients with non-SDTT were analyzed. Clinicopathologic variables, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes were compared between groups. Multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) was used to evaluate the immune contexture of SDTT. The efficacy of ICIs and anti-angiogenic therapy, administered as monotherapy or in combination, was also assessed.

RESULTS

SDTT patients had significantly inferior survival compared with non-SDTT. Although ICIs conferred clinical benefit in SDTT patients, this benefit was attenuated compared with non-SDTT (median progression-free survival [PFS] 6.0 vs. 13.5 months; p = 0.002; median overall survival [OS], 21.1 months vs. not reached; p = 0.030). mIHC analysis showed a TIME characterized by stromal exclusion of CD8 + T cells and enrichment of TIM3 + exhausted T-cell subsets. A high density of CD8 + TIM3 + T cells was associated with a trend toward worse overall survival in the SDTT cohort. In exploratory analyses, combination therapy with ICIs and antiangiogenic agents was associated with longer progression-free survival than ICI monotherapy, along with a trend toward improved overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Although ICIs provide clinical benefit in SDTT patients, their efficacy is attenuated compared with non-SDTT. Spatial mIHC analysis showed a CD8 + T cell-excluded, exhaustion-dominant immunosuppressive microenvironment. Exploratory findings suggest that combining antiangiogenic therapy with ICIs is associated with improved PFS; however, prospective validation is warranted.