Multi‑omics approach to improve patient‑tailored therapy using immune checkpoint blockade and cytokine‑induced killer cell infusion in an elderly patient with lung cancer: A case report and literature review

The 5‑year survival rate of patients with advanced non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains low, despite recent advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Therefore, there is a need to identify alternative strategies to improve treatment outcomes. Modern diagnostics can significantly facilitate the selection of treatment plans to improve patient outcomes. In the present study, multi‑form diagnostic methodologies were adopted, including next‑generation sequencing‑based actionable gene sequencing, programmed death ligand 1 (PD‑L1) immunohistochemistry, a circulating tumor cell (CTC) assay, flow cytometric analysis of lymphocyte subsets and computed tomography, to improve disease management in an 86‑year‑old female patient with relapsed metastatic NSCLC. High expression of PD‑L1, elevated CTC tmutations, were observed. Based on these results, the patient was initially treated with the programmed death protein 1 blocking antibody sintilimab for two cycles, resulting in the stabilization of their condition, although the patient still exhibited severe pain and other symptoms, including fatigue, malaise, a loss of appetite and poor mental state. Informed by dynamic monitoring of the patient's response to treatment, the treatment plan was subsequently adjusted to a combination therapy with sintilimab and autologous cytokine‑induced killer cell infusion, which eventually led to improved outcomes in both the management of the cancer and quality of life. In conclusion, multi‑omics analysis may be used to establish patient‑tailored therapies to improve clinical outcomes in hard‑to‑treat elderly patients with metastatic NSCLC.