Results from clinical trials of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) and immunotherapy indicate that the combination remains inadequate for inducing long-term remission. The study by Tu and colleagues demonstrated that early treatment with EGFR TKI afatinib suppressed human CD8⁺ T lymphocyte proliferation, which rebounded following long-term treatment, suggesting an immunomodulatory effect of afatinib on CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. Sequential treatment with afatinib then anti-PD1 immunotherapy could enhance therapeutic efficacy by promoting the proliferation of tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. The image depicts the impact of timing of afatinib treatment on effective killing of tumor cells (red) by T lymphocytes (blue). For details, see article by Tu and colleagues on page 3270.