AUTHOR=Hu Wei-Ting , Zhang Qiurui , Zhang Ze , He Xuan , Zhou Min , Guo Yi , Wang Xiaofei 

TITLE=Eosinophil and IFN-γ associated with immune-related adverse events as prognostic markers in patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with immunotherapy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1112409

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1112409

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been found to be beneficial in some patients with lung cancer, but the benefits haven't been demonstrated in others. We aim to investigate the underlying predictive value of peripheral blood cytokines in NSCLC patients.
Methods: We collected data retrospectively of patients with advanced NSCLC who were treated with ICIs at our center. Patients who received initial ICI therapy for >1 year without progressive disease were defined as the long-term treatment (LT) group, others were defined as the non-long-term treatment (NLT) group. Multivariate logistic analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors of progress free survival (PFS) and immune-related adverse events (irAEs). 
Results: A total of 83 patients (55.7%) had irAEs. The median PFS for patients in grade 1-2 of irAEs vs grade 3-4 vs no irAEs groups was (undefined vs 12 vs 8 months, p=0.0025). One-year PFS for multisystem vs single vs no irAE groups was 63%; 56%; and 31%, respectively. Complete inflammatory transmission improves clinical prognosis through immunomodulatory function, but the benefit is also limited by the resulting organ damage, making it a complex immune balance. Serum biomarkers including EOS% ≥ 1.15 (HR: 8.30, 95% CI 2.06 to 33.42, p=0.003) and IFN-γ ≥ 3.75 (HR: 5.10, 95% CI 1.29 to 20.15, p = 0.02) were found to be predictive for irAEs. 
Conclusion: EOS%≥1.15% and IFN-γ≥3.75 ng/L were considered as peripheral-blood markers for appearance of irAEs, and associated with improved clinical outcomes for immunotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC.