Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio as a Biomarker for the Prediction of Cancer Outcomes and Immune-Related Adverse Events in a CTLA-4-Treated Population

TL;DR

This study shows that a simple blood test, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), can predict treatment response and side effects in cancer patients receiving a specific immunotherapy.

Contribution

The study introduces NLR as a potential biomarker for predicting outcomes and immune-related adverse events in patients treated with CTLA-4 inhibition.

Findings

Patients with multiple immune-related adverse events had improved cancer outcomes.

Low NLR levels were associated with a higher incidence of immune-related adverse events.

Endocrinologic immune-related adverse events were specifically linked to better cancer outcomes.

Abstract

This study looked at whether side effects of a type of cancer therapy called immunotherapy could be predicted by a blood test and whether these side effects could help predict who would better respond to the treatment. The test is called a “neutrophil-to-lymphocyte” ratio (NLR) and can be obtained from a simple blood draw. Researchers reviewed data from 111 patients who had cancer, mostly a type of skin cancer called melanoma, and were treated with a specific immunotherapy, ipilimumab, to answer these questions. Patients who had multiple side effects tended to have a better cancer outcome. Additionally, patients with low NLR levels were more likely to experience side effects. This suggests that the NLR could be a useful and low-cost tool for predicting treatment responses and side effects in patients receiving this cancer therapy. More research is needed to confirm these results in larger groups and with other types of cancer.

Background/Objectives: Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) triggered by immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICI) have been paradoxically associated with both significant morbidity and improved cancer outcomes. While predictive markers for irAEs have been studied in the PD-1 blockade, less is known for their role in CTLA-4 inhibition. This study aims to fill this gap by evaluating NLR and irAE incidence in a CTLA-4-treated population. Methods: This study is a single-center retrospective cohort study investigating 111 patients treated with CTLA-4 inhibition (ipilimumab) to assess associations for baseline low NLR values with cancer outcomes and irAE type and incidence. Patient charts were manually reviewed by a single physician, and unclear clinical events were assessed by a second physician reviewer. Results: In this cohort, the occurrence of more than one irAE presentation was associated with an improved cancer outcome, OR 1.48 (1.02, 2.15). When stratified by organ-specific manifestation, only endocrinologic irAEs were associated with improved cancer outcome, OR 2.82 (1.19, 6.67). A low baseline NLR was statistically significantly associated with an increased incidence of irAEs of any type, OR 4.34 (1.73, 10.9). Conclusions: These data show that irAE occurrence in cancer patients treated with CTLA-4 inhibition is associated with improved cancer outcomes, similar to that previously seen with PD-1 inhibition. It also suggests that the NLR may serve as a practical peripheral biomarker to predict both cancer response and odds of irAEs in patients treated with CTLA-4 inhibition. This low-cost and widely available tool could provide additional information for modeling cancer outcomes.

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