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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Thoracic Oncology
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1450020

Sarcopenia predicts immune-related adverse events due to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in patients with advanced lung cancer

Provisionally accepted
Dinglong Xue Dinglong Xue Ning Li Ning Li Jiaxin Yang Jiaxin Yang Kaiya Men Kaiya Men Lijun Li Lijun Li Hao Jiang Hao Jiang Xu Zhao Xu Zhao Shuai Zhang Shuai Zhang *Xuesong Chen Xuesong Chen *
  • Department of Medical Oncology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of a number of patients with advanced cancer, and while this has resulted in increased survival times, it has also led to the emergence of novel immune-related adverse events (irAEs). In individuals with advanced cancer, sarcopenia is a significant symptom of cachexia and is linked to poor nutritional status and increased mortality. The present study aimed to evaluate sarcopenia and other risk variables that can affect the emergence of irAEs in patients with lung cancer. A single-center retrospective analysis of 129 patients with advanced lung cancer treated with programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) checkpoint inhibitors was conducted from August 2020 to August 2022. Data on baseline characteristics and adverse events of participants were collected. Computed tomography was used to determine the skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar vertebra (L3-SMI) and whether sarcopenia is present. The median age of all participants was 60 years old (range, 52-66 years), with men accounting for 68.9% of the total patient cohort. The present study showed that 44 (34%) participants presented with any degree of irAEs, and 79 (61.2%) patients presented with sarcopenia. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics, such as age and sex, between patients who presented with irAEs and those without irAEs. Using logistic regression analysis, individuals with sarcopenia were 2.635-times more likely to experience any grade of irAEs than those without sarcopenia. irAEs are prevalent side effects of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy for patients with cancer. By diagnosing and treating sarcopenia early, it is possible to lower the potential risk of irAEs in patients with advanced cancer. Furthermore, sarcopenia can be utilized as a predictor of irAEs.

    Keywords: Immune checkpoint inhibitor, Immune-related adverse events, Sarcopenia, Non-small cell lung cancer, L3-SMI

    Received: 16 Jun 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xue, Li, Yang, Men, Li, Jiang, Zhao, Zhang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Shuai Zhang, Department of Medical Oncology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China
    Xuesong Chen, Department of Medical Oncology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.