A prospective study from Northwestern University found that lung transplantation may dramatically improve survival for a rare subset of non-small cell lung cancer patients whose disease remains confined to the lungs despite multiple failed treatments. Among 98 such patients, those who received a lung transplant had 100% estimated one-year survival compared to roughly 41% in patients managed medically. Transplant recipients also showed survival rates similar to non-cancer patients receiving lung transplants for other end-stage lung diseases. Researchers emphasize this applies only to a highly selected group meeting strict eligibility criteria, and that larger randomized trials are needed before this becomes standard practice.
