E-News - June 2026
Spotlight on Alliance Trials
News Release
New Alliance Study Tests Immunotherapy to Prevent Lung Cancer Recurrence
By introducing immunotherapy right after surgery, researchers aim to replace passive observation with active prevention for stage I lung cancer
June 24, 2026 – The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology has launched a new national study to see if an immune-boosting drug can help keep early-stage lung cancer from coming back after surgery. Alliance A082302 aims to enroll 336 participants in this phase III trial specifically focusing on patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer.
Currently, after an early-stage lung tumor is successfully removed with surgery, patients are monitored closely for signs of recurrence. While some receive post-surgical therapies, most are followed with regular scans and checkups alone. Although surgery is highly effective, the cancer still returns for some individuals. This new trial is investigating whether earlier intervention using immunotherapy after surgery can improve outcomes for patients at risk.
“Patients who have successful surgery for early lung cancer currently face a stressful waiting game to see if their cancer will return,” said Muhammad Furqan, MD, the Mai Eager Anderson Endowed Chair in Clinical Trials at the University of Oklahoma, Stephenson Cancer Center and study chair of Alliance A082302. "With this study, we want to see if giving immunotherapy immediately after surgery can act as a shield, preventing the cancer from coming back.”
Participants in the trial will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:
- Observation: Patients will receive standard follow-up care, including regular checkups and scans, but no additional anti-cancer treatment.
- Immunotherapy: Patients will receive standard follow-up care plus atezolizumab, an immunotherapy drug.
Atezolizumab is an immunotherapy medication. Instead of attacking cancer cells directly like chemotherapy, it helps the body's immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells that may linger after surgery.
The primary goal of the trial is to determine whether atezolizumab can reduce the risk of lung cancer returning after surgery in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer.
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Reference: Alliance A082302-Evaluating Adjuvant Atezolizumab or Atezolizumab and Hyaluronidase-TQJS to Prevent Recurrence in Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): A Randomized Phase III Trial (AASI-NSCLC)
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is a national leader in advancing cancer research, uniting more than 25,000 cancer specialists at 115 main institutions and 1,400 affiliates across the U.S. and Canada. As part of the National Clinical Trials Network and a leading research base for the NCI Community Oncology Research Program, the Alliance conducts pioneering, practice-changing clinical trials that improve outcomes and reshape standards of care. Our work has led to multiple FDA approvals, influenced national guidelines, and produced hundreds of high-impact publications. More than 40,000 participants have taken part in Alliance studies, and our growing biospecimen repository now includes more than 1.5 million samples, collected over the past 30 years.
