|
1
|
Pettinella F, Lattanzi C, Donini M, Caveggion E, Marini O, Iannoto G, Costa S, Zenaro E, Fortunato TM, Gasperini S, Giani M, Belluomini L, Sposito M, Insolda J, Scaglione IM, Milella M, Adamo A, Poffe O, Bronte V, Dusi S, Cassatella MA, Ugel S, Pilotto S, Scapini P. Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell, Slan +-Monocyte and Natural Killer Cell Counts Function as Blood Cell-Based Biomarkers for Predicting Responses to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Monotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5285. [PMID: 37958458 PMCID: PMC10647811 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15215285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), for instance, programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockers, has greatly improved the outcome of patients affected by non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, most NSCLC patients either do not respond to ICI monotherapy or develop resistance to it after an initial response. Therefore, the identification of biomarkers for predicting the response of patients to ICI monotherapy represents an urgent issue. Great efforts are currently dedicated toward identifying blood-based biomarkers to predict responses to ICI monotherapy. In this study, more commonly utilized blood-based biomarkers, such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the lung immune prognostic index (LIPI) score, as well as the frequency/number and activation status of various types of circulating innate immune cell populations, were evaluated in NSCLC patients at baseline before therapy initiation. The data indicated that, among all the parameters tested, low plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC), slan+-monocyte and natural killer cell counts, as well as a high LIPI score and elevated PD-L1 expression levels on type 1 conventional DCs (cDC1s), were independently correlated with a negative response to ICI therapy in NSCLC patients. The results from this study suggest that the evaluation of innate immune cell numbers and phenotypes may provide novel and promising predictive biomarkers for ICI monotherapy in NSCLC patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Pettinella
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Chiara Lattanzi
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Marta Donini
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Elena Caveggion
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Olivia Marini
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Giulia Iannoto
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Sara Costa
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Elena Zenaro
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Tiago Moderno Fortunato
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Sara Gasperini
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Matteo Giani
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Lorenzo Belluomini
- Section of Innovation Biomedicine—Oncology Area, Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine (DIMI), University of Verona and University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.S.); (I.M.S.); (M.M.); (S.P.)
| | - Marco Sposito
- Section of Innovation Biomedicine—Oncology Area, Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine (DIMI), University of Verona and University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.S.); (I.M.S.); (M.M.); (S.P.)
| | - Jessica Insolda
- Section of Innovation Biomedicine—Oncology Area, Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine (DIMI), University of Verona and University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.S.); (I.M.S.); (M.M.); (S.P.)
| | - Ilaria Mariangela Scaglione
- Section of Innovation Biomedicine—Oncology Area, Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine (DIMI), University of Verona and University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.S.); (I.M.S.); (M.M.); (S.P.)
| | - Michele Milella
- Section of Innovation Biomedicine—Oncology Area, Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine (DIMI), University of Verona and University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.S.); (I.M.S.); (M.M.); (S.P.)
| | - Annalisa Adamo
- Immunology Section, Department of Medicine, University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy; (A.A.)
| | - Ornella Poffe
- Immunology Section, Department of Medicine, University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy; (A.A.)
| | - Vincenzo Bronte
- Veneto Institute of Oncology—Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IOV-IRCCS), 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Dusi
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Marco A. Cassatella
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| | - Stefano Ugel
- Immunology Section, Department of Medicine, University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy; (A.A.)
| | - Sara Pilotto
- Section of Innovation Biomedicine—Oncology Area, Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine (DIMI), University of Verona and University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.S.); (I.M.S.); (M.M.); (S.P.)
| | - Patrizia Scapini
- General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy (M.D.); (S.C.); (E.Z.); (T.M.F.); (S.G.); (M.G.)
| |
Collapse
|