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Publications

Journal Article Epublish 4 citations

PubMed: 37958458 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15215285

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) 15(21)

Authors: Francesca Pettinella, Chiara Lattanzi, Marta Donini, Elena Caveggion, Olivia Marini, Giulia Iannoto, Sara Costa, Elena Zenaro, Tiago Moderno Fortunato, Sara Gasperini, Matteo Giani, Lorenzo Belluomini, Marco Sposito, Jessica Insolda, Ilaria Mariangela Scaglione, Michele Milella, Annalisa Adamo, Ornella Poffe, Vincenzo Bronte, Stefano Dusi, Marco A Cassatella, Stefano Ugel, Sara Pilotto, Patrizia Scapini

Affiliations

  • General Pathology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
  • 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.
  • Immunology Section, Department of Medicine, University and Hospital Trust (AOUI) of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
  • Veneto Institute of Oncology-Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IOV-IRCCS), 35128 Padova, Italy.

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.

MeSH

Cells, Lung, Monocytes, Blood, Killer Cells, Natural, Neoplasms, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, Biomarkers, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Lung Neoplasms, Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, Cell Count, Blood Cells, Therapeutics, Dendritic Cells

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