The Association between a Decrease in On-Treatment Neutrophil-to-Eosinophil Ratio (NER) at Week 6 after Ipilimumab Plus Nivolumab Initiation and Improved Clinical Outcomes in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

A lower baseline neutrophil-to-eosinophil ratio (NER) has been associated with improved responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI)-treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). This study investigated the decrease in NER at week 6 after ipilimumab/nivolumab (ipi/nivo) initiation and treatment responses in mRCC. A retrospective study of ipi/nivo-treated mRCC at two US academic cancer centers was conducted. A landmark analysis at week 6 was performed to assess the association between the change in NER and clinical responses (progression-free survival (PFS)/overall survival (OS)). Week 6 NER was modeled as a continuous variable, after log transformation (Ln NER), and a categorical variable by percent change. There were 150 mRCC patients included: 78% had clear cell histology, and 78% were IMDC intermediate/poor risk. In multivariable regression analysis, every decrease of 1 unit of Ln NER at week 6 was associated with improved PFS (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 0.78, p-value:0.005) and OS (AHR: 0.67, p-value: 0.002). When NER was modeled by percent change, decreased NER > 50% was associated with improved PFS (AHR: 0.55, p-value: 0.03) and OS (AHR: 0.37, p-value: 0.02). The decrease in week 6 NER was associated with improved PFS/OS in ipi/nivo-treated mRCC. Prospective studies are warranted to validate NER change as a biomarker to predict ICI responses.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Chen, Y-W; Tucker, MD; Brown, LC; Yasin, HA; Ancell, KK; Armstrong, AJ; Beckermann, KE; Davis, NB; Harrison, MR; Kaiser, EG; McAlister, RK; Schaffer, KR; Wallace, DE; George, DJ; Rathmell, WK; Rini, BI; Zhang, T

Published Date

  • August 2022

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 14 / 15

Start / End Page

  • 3830 -

PubMed ID

  • 35954493

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC9367298

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 2072-6694

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 2072-6694

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.3390/cancers14153830

Language

  • eng