Northwestern Study Shows 17 Terminal Lung Cancer Patients Survived 1 Year After Transplants
Updated
Updated · Chicago Tribune · Jul 8
Northwestern Study Shows 17 Terminal Lung Cancer Patients Survived 1 Year After Transplants
3 articles · Updated · Chicago Tribune · Jul 8
Summary
All 17 Northwestern patients with terminal lung cancer confined to the lungs survived at least one year after transplant or were still alive when the JAMA study ended, offering an option for patients who otherwise often live only days or weeks.
Northwestern limited the procedure to Stage 4 patients whose disease had not spread beyond the lungs and whose other treatments had failed, addressing long-standing concerns that immunosuppression after transplant would trigger rapid recurrence.
Surgeons adapted techniques refined during COVID-19 lung transplants, removing diseased lungs without spilling cancer cells and washing the chest cavity and airways before implanting donor lungs.
The results still came with limits: two patients later died from non-cancer complications, and four had recurrences, though doctors said those cases were more manageable than the original disease.
Northwestern hopes the findings push more major transplant centers to offer the procedure, which patients like Laura Rotunno and Jodi Graf traveled long distances to receive.
A new transplant gives terminal lung cancer patients 100% one-year survival. Is this a cure or false hope?
Is it ethical to give scarce donor lungs to Stage 4 cancer patients over others on the transplant list?
After removing cancerous lungs, what stops the highly resistant cancer cells from returning elsewhere in the body?
100% One-Year Survival After Lung Transplantation for Select Stage IV Lung Cancer: The Northwestern DREAM Study’s Groundbreaking Results and Implications
Overview
The Northwestern Medicine DREAM study, published in JAMA in July 2026, marks a major shift in lung cancer treatment by challenging the belief that stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is always incurable. This landmark research explored lung transplantation as an option for a very select group of patients—those 65 or younger, with stable, limited cancer spread, no lymph node involvement, and no other major health issues. By carefully choosing 17 patients who met these strict criteria, the study showed that, for some, lung transplantation could offer new hope and potentially redefine what is possible for advanced lung cancer care.