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Barth DA, Moik F, Steinlechner S, Posch F, Mayer MC, Sandner AM, Berton F, Schlintl V, Koch L, John N, Wurm R, Pichler M, Bauernhofer T, Reimann P, Wohlkönig C, Richtig E, Winder T, Preusser M, Jost PJ, Ay C, Gerger A, Terbuch A, Riedl JM. Early kinetics of C reactive protein for cancer-agnostic prediction of therapy response and mortality in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a multicenter cohort study. J Immunother Cancer 2023; 11:e007765. [PMID: 38097343 PMCID: PMC10729183 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-007765] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND C reactive protein (CRP) kinetics have recently been suggested as predictive biomarkers for the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in selected cancer types. The aim of this study was to characterize early CRP kinetics as a tumor-agnostic biomarker for ICI treatment outcomes. METHODS In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, two independent cohorts of patients with various cancer types undergoing palliative ICI treatment at Austrian academic centers served as the discovery (n=562) and validation cohort (n=474). Four different patterns of CRP kinetics in the first 3 months of ICI therapy were defined (CRP-flare responders, CRP-responders, CRP non-responders, patients with all-normal CRP). Objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were defined as coprimary endpoints. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression, landmark analysis and Cox regression including CRP kinetics as time-dependent variable were performed. RESULTS The ORR in patients with all-normal CRP, CRP responders, CRP flare-responders and CRP non-responders was 41%, 38%, 31% and 12%, respectively. The median OS and PFS estimates were 24.5 months (95% CI 18.5 to not reached) and 8.2 months (95% CI 5.9 to 12.0) in patients with all-normal CRP, 16.1 months (95% CI 12.6 to 19-8) and 6.1 months (95% CI 4.9 to 7.2) in CRP-responders, 14.0 months (95% CI 8.5 to 19.4) and 5.7 months (95% CI 4.1 to 8.5) in CRP flare-responders and 8.1 months (95% CI 5.8 to 9.9) and 2.3 months (95% CI 2.2 to 2.8) in CRP non-responders (log-rank p for PFS and OS<0.001). These findings prevailed in multivariable analysis and could be fully confirmed in our validation cohort. Pooled subgroup analysis suggested a consistent predictive significance of early CRP kinetics for treatment efficacy and outcome independent of cancer type. CONCLUSION Early CRP kinetics represent a tumor-agnostic predictor for treatment response, progression risk and mortality in patients with cancer undergoing ICI therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik A Barth
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Florian Moik
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Sarah Steinlechner
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Florian Posch
- Division of Hematology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Marie-Christina Mayer
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Amelie M Sandner
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Franziska Berton
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Verena Schlintl
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Lukas Koch
- Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Nikolaus John
- Division of Pulmonology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Robert Wurm
- Division of Pulmonology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Martin Pichler
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Translational Oncology, University Hospital Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Bauernhofer
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Patrick Reimann
- Internal Medicine II, Department of Hematology, Oncology, Gastroenterology and Infectiology, Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch, Feldkirch, Austria
| | - Christoph Wohlkönig
- Division of Pulmonology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Erika Richtig
- Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Thomas Winder
- Internal Medicine II, Department of Hematology, Oncology, Gastroenterology and Infectiology, Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch, Feldkirch, Austria
| | - Matthias Preusser
- Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine 1, Medizinische Universitat Wien, Wien, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Personalized Immunotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Philipp J Jost
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Cihan Ay
- Clinical Division of Hematology and Hemostaseology, Department of Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Armin Gerger
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Angelika Terbuch
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Jakob Michael Riedl
- Division of Oncology; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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