Impact of Sarcopenia and Inflammation on Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NCSCL) Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs): A Prospective Study

Precision Immuno-Oncology in NSCLC through Gender Equity Lenses

Precision immuno-oncology involves the development of personalized cancer treatments that are influenced by the unique nature of an individual's DNA, immune cells, and their tumor's molecular characterization. Biological sex influences immunity; females typically mount stronger innate and adaptive immune responses than males. Though more research is warranted, we continue to observe an enhanced benefit for females with lung cancer when treated with combination chemoimmunotherapy in contrast to the preferred approach of utilizing immunotherapy alone in men. Despite the observed sex differences in response to treatments, women remain underrepresented in oncology clinical trials, largely as a result of gender-biased misconceptions. Such exclusion has resulted in the development of less efficacious treatment guidelines and clinical recommendations and has created a knowledge gap in regard to immunotherapy-related survivorship issues such as fertility. To develop a more precise approach to care and overcome the exclusion of women from clinical trials, flexible trial schedules, multilingual communication strategies, financial, and transportation assistance for participants should be adopted. The impact of intersectionality and other determinants of health that affect the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes in women must also be considered in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the unique impact of immunotherapy in all women with lung cancer.

Predictive impact of sarcopenia in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: A retrospective study

Background

Sarcopenia, characterised by an ongoing loss of skeletal muscle mass and reduced strength and function, is frequently observed in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the relationship between sarcopenia and the prognosis of NSCLC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remains unclear. This aimed to assess whether sarcopenia is an independent prognostic factor for survival in patients with advanced NSCLC receiving ICIs.

Methods

For this retrospective cohort study, we analysed the medical records of patients attending our hospital aged 18-75 years who were newly diagnosed with stage IIIB to stage IV NSCLC, and who had received ICIs as first- or second-line therapy between May 2019 and April 2022. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated from computed tomography (CT) images and relevant clinical characteristics within 4 weeks of initiating treatment and used to diagnose sarcopenia status. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to calculate and compare patients' progression-free survival (PFS). Cox proportional hazard regression was used to examine the associations between sarcopenia and survival outcomes. The chi-square test was used to compare treatment response outcomes, such as the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and immunotherapy-related adverse events (irAEs), between individuals with and without sarcopenia. Additionally, the Student's t-test was utilised to compare SMI values between patients by their objective response (OR) and disease control (DC). Finally, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare nutritional and inflammatory indicators between the sarcopenia groups.

Results

The study enrolled 70 patients, of whom 34 (48.6%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. The median PFS of patients with and without sarcopenia was 7.5 vs. 13.4 months, respectively (p = 0.006). The proportional hazards regression analysis showed sarcopenia to be an independent prognostic factor for shorter PFS (hazard ratio (HR): 0.504, 95% CI: 0.265-0.962, p = 0.038). Using chi square tests, we found significant differences in the ORR (20.59% vs. 58.33%, p = 0.001) and occurrence of any irAEs (44.1% vs. 22.2%, p = 0.028) between the sarcopenia and the non-sarcopenia groups, respectively. The Student's t-test showed a significant difference in SMI between the ORR group and the non-ORR group (49.99 ± 7.00 vs. 42.98 ± 2.18 cm2/m2, p = 0.0015). While the sarcopenia group were with significantly a lower CD4+/CD8+ ratios and a higher C-reactive protein (CRP) level (p = 0.026, p = 0.011, respectively). Conclusions: This study found that sarcopenia is a significant predictor of a poor prognosis for patients with advanced NSCLC receiving ICIs. Multiple inflammatory and immune functions related to prognosis also differ by sarcopenia status.

Sarcopenia affects the clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with gastrointestinal cancers

OBJECTIVE

The impact of sarcopenia on the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) patients remains uncertain in clinical practice. Hence, this study aims to investigate the potential correlation between sarcopenia and the clinical outcomes of GIC patients treated with ICIs.

METHODS

To gather pertinent studies, a systematic literature search was implemented across multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. The primary outcomes of interest were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), measured with the hazard ratio (HR). And the secondary outcomes, including disease control rate (DCR), overall response rate (ORR), and adverse events (AE), were evaluated with the odd ratio (OR).

RESULTS

A total of 13 articles involving 1294 patients were collected for this analysis. The pooled results revealed that GIC patients with sarcopenia had significantly poorer OS (HR = 1.697, 95% CI = 1.367-2.106, p < 0.001) and PFS (HR: 1.551, 95% CI: 1.312-1.833, p < 0.001), and lower ORR (OR = 0.594, 95% CI = 0.388-0.909, p = 0.016) and DCR (OR: 0.553, 95% CI: 0.360-0.850, p = 0.007) compared to those without sarcopenia. However, sarcopenia did not increase the incidence of treatment-related adverse events compared with non-sarcopenia (OR = 1.377, 95% CI = 0.693-2.737, p = 0.361). According to subgroup analysis, the association between sarcopenia and the therapeutic effect of ICI on patients with primary liver cancer or gastric cancer was consistent with the above findings.

CONCLUSION

Sarcopenia is significantly correlated with poorer treatment response and worse long-term efficacy in GIC patients treated with ICIs. Moreover, sarcopenia does not increase the incidence of adverse events.

The relationship between clinicopathological variables, systemic inflammation, and CT-derived body composition with survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer receiving nivolumab as a second-line treatment

BACKGROUND

Second-line immunotherapy is currently recognized to help only a subset of patients with advanced forms of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The current study analyzes the connection between prior treatment host/tumor characteristics and survival in advanced NSCLC patients receiving nivolumab as a second-line therapy.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis was carried out on individuals with advanced NSCLC receiving second-line Nivolumab with palliative intent between February 2016 and May 2019 across three health boards in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, and Arran in Scotland to examine the association between systemic inflammation, body composition, and survival were determined using computed tomography (CT).

RESULTS

The current study investigates the connection between prior treatment host/tumor characteristics and survival in advanced NSCLC patients receiving nivolumab as a second-line therapy. The majority were 65 years of age or older (51%), female (53%), had adenocarcinoma (53%), and had good performance status (ECOG 0/1) (86%). Most patients had high SFI (70%) or VFA (54%). The median overall survival after starting Nivolumab was 15 months. ECOG-PS and hypoalbuminemia were significant predictors of 12-month survival in patients with advanced NSCLC following Nivolumab treatment, according to Cox regression (p-value = 0.047 and 0.014, respectively).

CONCLUSION

In patients with advanced NSCLC receiving Nivolumab as a second-line therapy, ECOG-PS and hypoalbuminemia were strongly associated with survival. Systemic inflammation and hypoalbuminemia measurements may enhance the ECOG-PS stratification of expected outcomes.

Impact of BMI on the survival outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

ICIs have become the standard treatment for advanced NSCLC patients. Currently, PD-L1 is the most widely useful biomarker to predict ICI efficacy, but the sensitivity and specificity are limited. Therefore, the useful predictive biomarkers of ICI efficacy is urgently needed. BMI is an internationally used measure of body health. Obesity may affect ICI efficacy by changing T cell functions. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify the relationship between BMI and survival outcomes of NSCLC patients treated with ICIs.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted to identify studies that assessed the association between BMI and survival outcomes in patients treated with ICIs. OS was the primary endpoint, and PFS was the secondary endpoint. Random-effect models or fixed-effect models were utilized to combine study effects according to the Cochran Q and I2 tests.

RESULTS

Nine studies, including 4602 NSCLC patients treated with ICIs, that met the inclusion criteria were selected for this meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in PFS (HR 0.885; 95% CI 0.777-1.009, p = 0.068) or OS (HR 0.947; 95% CI 0.789-1.137, p = 0.560) between the low BMI group and the high BMI group. However, in the subgroup analysis, compared with normal-weight patients, overweight and obese patients achieved prolonged PFS (HR 0.862; 95% CI 0.760-0.978, p = 0.021) and OS (HR 0.818; 95% CI 0.741-0.902, p<0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Overweight and obese NSCLC patients tend to achieve prolonged survival time with ICI regimens. Further prospective studies are needed to strengthen the association between ICI outcomes and BMI levels.

Body composition predicts prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitors

PURPOSE

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody are promising treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but lack reliable biomarkers of response. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the correlation between pre-treatment body composition measures (muscle, adipose, etc.) and the prognosis of patients with HCC treated with ICIs.

METHODS

We measured the total area of all skeletal muscles, total adipose tissue area, subcutaneous adipose tissue area, and visceral adipose tissue area at the level of the third lumbar vertebra using quantitative CT. Then, we calculated the skeletal muscle index, visceral adipose tissue index, subcutaneous adipose tissue index (SATI), and total adipose tissue index. The Cox regression model was used to determine the independent factors of the patient prognosis and construct a nomogram to predict survival. The consistency index (C-index) and calibration curve were used to determine the predictive accuracy and discrimination ability of the nomogram.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis revealed that the SATI (high- vs. low SATI; HR 0.251; 95% CI 0.109-0.577; P = 0.001), sarcopenia (sarcopenia vs. no sarcopenia; HR 2.171; 95% CI 1.100-4.284; P = 0.026), and portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) (PVTT vs. No PVTT; HR 2.429; 95% CI 1. 197-4. 929; P = 0.014) were indicated as independent prognostic factors for OS in multivariate analysis. Multivariate analysis indicated that Child-Pugh class (HR 0.477, 95% CI 0.257-0.885, P = 0.019) and sarcopenia (HR 2.376, 95% CI 1.335-4.230, P = 0.003) were independent prognostic factors of PFS. We established a nomogram using SATI, SA, and PVTT to predict the 12-month and 18-month survival probability of HCC patients treated with ICIs. The C-index of the nomogram was 0.754 (95% CI 0.686-0.823), and the calibration curve confirmed that the predicted results were in good agreement with the actual observations.

CONCLUSION

Subcutaneous adipose and sarcopenia are significant prognostic factors of patients with HCC receiving ICIs. A nomogram based on body composition parameters and clinical factors could well predict survival in HCC patients treated with ICIs.

Prediction model for hyperprogressive disease in patients with advanced solid tumors received immune-checkpoint inhibitors: a pan-cancer study

BACKGROUND

Hyper progressive disease (HPD) describes the phenomenon that patients can't benefit from immunotherapy but cause rapid tumor progression. HPD is a particular phenomenon in immunotherapy but lacks prediction methods. Our study aims to screen the factors that may forecast HPD and provide a predictive model for risky stratifying.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed advanced-stage tumor patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in the General PLA Hospital. Subsequently, we calculated the tumor growth kinetics ratio (TGKr) and identified typical HPD patients. Differences analysis of clinical characteristics was performed, and a predictive binary classification model was constructed.

RESULTS

867 patients with complete image information were screened from more than 3000 patients who received ICI between January 2015 and January 2020. Among them, 36 patients were identified as HPD for TGKr > 2. After the propensity score matched, confounding factors were limited. Survival analysis revealed that the clinical outcome of HPD patients was significantly worse than non-HPD patients. Besides, we found that Body Mass Index (BMI), anemia, lymph node metastasis in non-draining areas, pancreatic metastasis, and whether combined with anti-angiogenesis or chemotherapy therapy were closely connected with the HPD incidence. Based on these risk factors, we constructed a visualised predicted nomogram model, and the Area Under Curve (AUC) is 0.850 in the train dataset, whereas 0.812 in the test dataset.

CONCLUSION

We carried out a retrospective study for HPD based on real-world patients and constructed a clinically feasible and practical model for predicting HPD incidence, which could help oncologists to stratify risky patients and select treatment strategies.

Synergic prognostic value of 3D CT scan subcutaneous fat and muscle masses for immunotherapy-treated cancer

BACKGROUND

Our aim was to explore the prognostic value of anthropometric parameters in a large population of patients treated with immunotherapy.

METHODS

We retrospectively included 623 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (n=318) or melanoma (n=305) treated by an immune-checkpoint-inhibitor having a pretreatment (thorax-)abdomen-pelvis CT scan. An external validation cohort of 55 patients with NSCLC was used. Anthropometric parameters were measured three-dimensionally (3D) by a deep learning software (Anthropometer3DNet) allowing an automatic multislice measurement of lean body mass, fat body mass (FBM), muscle body mass (MBM), visceral fat mass (VFM) and sub-cutaneous fat mass (SFM). Body mass index (BMI) and weight loss (WL) were also retrieved. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed and overall survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve and Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS

In the overall cohort, 1-year mortality rate was 0.496 (95% CI: 0.457 to 0.537) for 309 events and 5-year mortality rate was 0.196 (95% CI: 0.165 to 0.233) for 477 events. In the univariate Kaplan-Meier analysis, prognosis was worse (p<0.001) for patients with low SFM (<3.95 kg/m2), low FBM (<3.26 kg/m2), low VFM (<0.91 kg/m2), low MBM (<5.85 kg/m2) and low BMI (<24.97 kg/m2). The same parameters were significant in the Cox univariate analysis (p<0.001) and, in the multivariate stepwise Cox analysis, the significant parameters were MBM (p<0.0001), SFM (0.013) and WL (0.0003). In subanalyses according to the type of cancer, all body composition parameters were statistically significant for NSCLC in ROC, KM and Cox univariate analysis while, for melanoma, none of them, except MBM, was statistically significant. In multivariate Cox analysis, the significant parameters for NSCLC were MBM (HR=0.81, p=0.0002), SFM (HR=0.94, p=0.02) and WL (HR=1.06, p=0.004). For NSCLC, a KM analysis combining SFM and MBM was able to separate the population in three categories with the worse prognostic for the patients with both low SFM (<5.22 kg/m2) and MBM (<6.86 kg/m2) (p<0001). On the external validation cohort, combination of low SFM and low MBM was pejorative with 63% of mortality at 1 year versus 25% (p=0.0029).

CONCLUSIONS

3D measured low SFM and MBM are significant prognosis factors of NSCLC treated by immune checkpoint inhibitors and can be combined to improve the prognostic value.

Circulating Natural Killer Cells as Prognostic Value for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Correlation with Sarcopenia

BACKGROUND

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of tumors. Natural killer (NK) cells can play an important role in cancer immune surveillance. The aim of this prospective observational study was to analyze peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving ICIs in order to identify predictive factors for better survival outcomes.

METHODS

Forty-seven stage IV NSCLC patients were enrolled. Patients underwent baseline (T₀) and longitudinal (T₁) evaluations after ICIs. Peripheral immune blood cell counts were analyzed using flow cytometry.

RESULTS

Basal levels of CD3^-CD56⁺ NK cells were higher in patients with controlled disease (DC) compared to progression disease (PD) patients (127 cells/µL vs. 27.8 cells/µL, p < 0.001). Lower NK cell values were independent prognostic factors for shorter overall survival (OS) (HR 0.992; 95% CI 0.987-0.997, p < 0.001) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR 0.988; 95% CI 0.981-0.994, p < 0.001). During the longitudinal evaluation, CD3^-CD56⁺ NK cells (138.1 cells/µL vs. 127 cells/µL, p = 0.025) and CD56^bright NK cells (27.4 cells/µL vs. 18.1 cells/µL, p = 0.034) significantly increased in the DC group. Finally, lower values of CD3^-CD56⁺ NK cells (28.3 cells/µL vs. 114.6 cells/µL, p = 0.004) and CD56^dim NK cells (13.2 cells/µL vs. 89.4 cells/µL, p < 0.001) were found in sarcopenic patients compared to patients without sarcopenia.

CONCLUSIONS

Peripheral NK cells could represent a non-invasive and useful tool to predict ICI therapy response in NSCLC patients, and the association of low NK cell levels with sarcopenia deserves even more attention in clinical evaluation.

Sarcopenia in Lung Cancer: A Narrative Review

It has been over 10 years since the relationship between sarcopenia and lung cancer was first explored. Since then, sarcopenia research has progressed substantially, and the prognostic value of this condition is becoming increasingly apparent. Prior systematic reviews and meta-analyses have established sarcopenia to be negatively associated with disease-free and overall-survival, as well as a major risk factor for post-operative complications. The bulk of the literature has explored sarcopenia in the resectable setting, with less emphasis placed on studies evaluating this condition in advanced disease. In this up-to-date review, an examination of the literature exploring the association between sarcopenia and long-term outcomes in advanced lung cancer is provided. We further explore the association between adverse events of medical therapy and the role of sarcopenia as a predictor of tumor response. Finally, the interventions on sarcopenia and cancer cachexia are reviewed, with an emphasis placed on prospective studies.

Prognostic value of sarcopenia in patients with lung cancer treated with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors or immune checkpoint inhibitors

Objectives

It remains controversial whether sarcopenia has any significant impact on the efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) or immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Therefore, in this study, we aimed to assess the association between sarcopenia and clinical outcomes in patients with advanced NSCLC receiving EGFR-TKIs or ICIs as a first-line therapy.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled 131 patients with advanced NSCLC treated with first-line EGFR-TKIs or ICIs between 1 March 2019 and 31 March 2021. To estimate sarcopenia, we calculated skeletal muscle index (SMI) as the ratio of skeletal muscle area (cm2) to height squared (m2). Associations between sarcopenia and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank tests, respectively. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the factors associated with OS and PFS. The Student’s t-test or Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the SMI between patients with or without objective response and disease control. The chi-squared test was used to compare adverse events (AEs) between patients with and without sarcopenia.

Results

Among the 131 patients, 35 (26.7%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was an independent predictor of poor OS and PFS (p &lt; 0.05) overall and in the EGFR-TKI- and ICI-treated cohorts. Among all patients, those with sarcopenia showed significantly shorter OS and PFS than those without sarcopenia (median OS and PFS: 13.0 vs. 26.0 months and 6.4 vs. 15.1 months; both p &lt; 0.001). These associations were consistent across the subtypes of most clinical characteristics. Statistically significant differences between the objective response (OR) and non-OR groups were also observed in the mean SMI (OR group, 43.89 ± 7.55 vs. non-OR group, 38.84 ± 7.11 cm2/m2; p &lt; 0.001). In addition, we observed similar results with disease control (DC) and non-DC groups (DC group, 42.46 ± 7.64 vs. non-DCR group, 33.74 ± 4.31 cm2/m2; p &lt; 0.001). The AEs did not differ significantly between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups.

Conclusion

Sarcopenia before treatment might be a significant predictor of poor clinical outcomes (shorter OS and PFS, fewer ORs, less DC) in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with EGFR-TKIs or ICIs as the first-line therapy.

Pre-Therapeutic Sarcopenia among Cancer Patients: An Up-to-Date Meta-Analysis of Prevalence and Predictive Value during Cancer Treatment

This study will address the prevalence of pre-therapeutic sarcopenia (PS) and its clinical impact during cancer treatment among adult cancer patients ≥ 18 years of age. A meta-analysis (MA) with random-effect models was performed via a MEDLINE systematic review, according to the PRISMA statement, focusing on articles published before February 2022 that reported observational studies and clinical trials on the prevalence of PS and the following outcomes: overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), post-operative complications (POC), toxicities (TOX), and nosocomial infections (NI). A total of 65,936 patients (mean age: 45.7-85 y) with various cancer sites and extensions and various treatment modes were included. Mainly defined by CT scan-based loss of muscle mass only, the pooled prevalence of PS was 38.0%. The pooled relative risks were 1.97, 1.76, 2.70, 1.47, and 1.76 for OS, PFS, POC, TOX, and NI, respectively (moderate-to-high heterogeneity, I²: 58-85%). Consensus-based algorithm definitions of sarcopenia, integrating low muscle mass and low levels of muscular strength and/or physical performance, lowered the prevalence (22%) and heterogeneity (I² < 50%). They also increased the predictive values with RRs ranging from 2.31 (OS) to 3.52 (POC). PS among cancer patients is prevalent and strongly associated with poor outcomes during cancer treatment, especially when considering a consensus-based algorithm approach.

Sarcopenia as a Determinant of the Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

The impact of pre-immunotherapy sarcopenia in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is elusive. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the association between sarcopenia and clinical outcomes of ICIs.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched.

RESULTS

Thirteen clinical trials were selected. The 1,2-year overall survival rate was lower in the sarcopenia group (odds ratio (OR) = 2.44, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.78-3.35, P < 0.00001; OR = 1.60, 95% CI, 1.08-2.37, P = 0.02), with I² = 34%, P = 0.15, and I² = 41%, P = 0.12. The 1,2-year progression-free survival (PFS) was the same (OR = 3.43, 95% CI, 1.86-6.33, P < 0.0001; OR = 2.06, 95% CI, 1.19-3.58, P < 0.0001), with I² = 31%, P = 0.17 and I²=31%, P = 0.17. Sarcopenia reduced the overall response rate (OR = 2.22, 95% CI, 1.01-4.84, P = 0.02), with I²= 56%, P = 0.02, and disease control rate (OR = 3.15, 95% CI, 2.10-4.72, P < 0.0001) with I² = 33%, P = 0.18.

CONCLUSION

Pre-immunotherapy sarcopenia was associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with advanced NSCLC who received ICIs.

Association of Computed Tomography Measures of Muscle and Adipose Tissue and Progressive Changes throughout Treatment with Clinical Endpoints in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

To investigate the association between skeletal muscle mass and adiposity measures with disease-free progression (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced lung cancer receiving immunotherapy, we retrospectively analysed 97 patients (age: 67.5 ± 10.2 years) with lung cancer who were treated with immunotherapy between March 2014 and June 2019. From computed tomography scans, we assessed the radiological measures of skeletal muscle mass, and intramuscular, subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue at the third lumbar vertebra. Patients were divided into two groups based on specific or median values at baseline and changes throughout treatment. A total number of 96 patients (99.0%) had disease progression (median of 11.3 months) and died (median of 15.4 months) during follow-up. Increases of 10% in intramuscular adipose tissue were significantly associated with DFS (HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.95) and OS (HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.95), while increases of 10% in subcutaneous adipose tissue were associated with DFS (HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.95). These results indicate that, although muscle mass and visceral adipose tissue were not associated with DFS or OS, changes in intramuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissue can predict immunotherapy clinical outcomes in patients with advanced lung cancer.

Survival and immunotoxicities in association with sex-specific body composition patterns of cancer patients undergoing immune-checkpoint inhibitor therapy - A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Imbalanced body composition is mechanistically connected to dysregulated immune activities. Whether overweight/obesity or sarcopenia has an impact on treatment results in cancer patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy is currently under debate. We aimed to answer if survival rates and occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) were different in obese or sarcopenic patients.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase and CENTRAL for all records published until July 2022 using specific search terms for body composition in combination with terms for ICI regimens. Two authors screened independently. All studies that reported on body mass index or sarcopenia measures were selected for further analysis.

RESULTS

48 studies reporting on overweight/obesity comprising of 19,767 patients, and 32 studies reporting on sarcopenia comprising of 3193 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In the entire cohort, overweight/obesity was significantly associated with better progression-free survival (PFS; p = 0.009) and overall survival (OS; p <0.00001). Subgroup analyses stratified by sex revealed that overweight/obese males had the strongest survival benefit (PFS: p = 0.05; OS: p = 0.0005), and overweight/obese female patients did not show any. However, overweight/obese patients of both sexes had a higher risk to develop irAEs grade ≥3 (p = 0.0009). Sarcopenic patients showed significantly shorter PFS (p <0.0001) and OS (p <0.0001). The frequency of irAEs did not differ between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis suggests that body composition is associated in a sex-specific manner with survival and irAEs in cancer patients undergoing ICI treatment.

Effect of Cancer-Related Cachexia and Associated Changes in Nutritional Status, Inflammatory Status, and Muscle Mass on Immunotherapy Efficacy and Survival in Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based immunotherapy has significantly improved the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, a significant percentage of patients do not benefit from this approach, and predictive biomarkers are needed. Increasing evidence demonstrates that cachexia, a complex syndrome driven by cancer-related chronic inflammation often encountered in patients with NSCLC, may impair the immune response and ICI efficacy. Herein, we carried out a prospective study aimed at evaluating the prognostic and predictive role of cachexia with the related changes in nutritional, metabolic, and inflammatory parameters (assessed by the multidimensional miniCASCO tool) on the survival and clinical response (i.e., disease control rate) to ICI-based immunotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC. We included 74 consecutive patients. Upon multivariate regression analysis, we found a negative association between IL-6 levels (odds ratio (OR) = 0.9036; 95%CI = 0.8408-0.9711; p = 0.0025) and the miniCASCO score (OR = 0.9768; 95%CI = 0.9102-0.9999; p = 0.0310) with the clinical response. As for survival outcomes, multivariate COX regression analysis found that IL-6 levels and miniCASCO-based cachexia severity significantly affected PFS (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.0388; 95%CI = 1.0230-1.0548; p < 0.001 and HR = 1.2587; 95%CI = 1.0850-1.4602; p = 0.0024, respectively) and OS (HR = 1.0404; 95%CI = 1.0221-1.0589; p < 0.0001 and HR = 2.3834; 95%CI = 1.1504-4.9378; p = 0.0194, respectively). A comparison of the survival curves by Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significantly lower OS in patients with cachexia versus those without cachexia (p = 0.0323), as well as higher miniCASCO-based cachexia severity (p = 0.0428), an mGPS of 2 versus those with a lower mGPS (p = 0.0074), and higher IL-6 levels (>6 ng/mL) versus those with lower IL-6 levels (≤6 ng/mL) (p = 0.0120). In conclusion, our study supports the evidence that cachexia, with its related changes in inflammatory, body composition, and nutritional parameters, is a key prognostic and predictive factor for ICIs. Further larger studies are needed to confirm these findings and to explore the potential benefit of counteracting cachexia to improve immunotherapy efficacy.

Sarcopenia Was a Poor Prognostic Predictor for Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Background

It remains not well known whether skeletal muscle mass (SMM) loss has any impact on the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced lung cancer. We aimed to evaluate the association between SMM and clinical outcome of patients with advanced lung cancer receiving ICIs as first line or second line.

Materials and Methods

From March 1st, 2019 to March 31st, 2021 at our hospital, 34 patients with advanced lung cancer treated with first-line or second-line ICIs were enrolled retrospectively. The estimation of skeletal muscle index (SMI) for sarcopenia was assessed at the level of the third lumbar vertebra (L3) on computed tomography (CT) images obtained within 4 weeks before initiation of ICIs treatment. The impact of sarcopenia (low SMI) on progression free survival (PFS) was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank tests. The effect of various variables on PFS was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression model with univariate and multivariate analysis. The impact on treatment response including objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) and immunotherapy related adverse events (irAEs) between patients with and without sarcopenia was compared by the chi-squared test. The comparison of SMI value between patients with objective response (OR), disease control (DC) and those without OR and DC was used student t-test or Mann-Whitney U test.

Results

Both in univariate and multivariate analysis, sarcopenia and treatment lines were the predictive factors for PFS (p < 0.05). Patients with sarcopenia had significantly shorter PFS than that of non-sarcopenic ones [6.57 vs. 16.2 months, hazard ratios (HR) = 2.947 and 3.542, and 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.123–13.183 and 1.11–11.308, p = 0.022 and 0.033]. No significant difference in ORR and irAEs was found. Patients with sarcopenia had lower DCR than those without sarcopenia. The mean SMI value of DCR group and non-DCR group was 32.94 ± 5.49 and 44.77 ± 9.06 cm²/m², respectively (p = 0.008).

Conclusion

Sarcopenia before immunotherapy might be a significant predictor for poor prognosis including shorter PFS and lower DCR in patients with advanced lung cancer treated with ICIs as first line or second line.