Cytokine profiles of peripheral blood in patients with non-small cell lung cancer receiving anti-PD1 therapy.

Abstract

e21068 Background: Lung cancer (LC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and leading causes of cancer death worldwide. A limited clinical benefit of checkpoint inhibitor therapy (CIT) remains an important issue. Various units of the immune system are involved in both antitumor immunity and the development of CIT-induced side effects. Cytokines play a special role in these phenomena. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cytokine profiles of peripheral blood in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving CIT. Methods: The study included 32 NSCLC patients aged 41-83 years. CIT (pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg once every 21 days or 200 mg once every 21 days) continued until the appearance of reliable signs of the disease progression (in combination with symptomatic deterioration of the patient's condition). The effect was assessed by RECIST 1.1. The levels of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IFN-γ) in the blood serum of patients were determined by ELISA before treatment, after 4 and after 8 injections. The results were expressed as specific content (units/mg). Results: The disease progression was registered in 14 patients, complete response in 7, partial response in 3 and stabilization in 8 patients. Only TNF-α was increased after CIT by 39% (11.3 [10.5; 15.4] vs. 8.1 [7.37;10.2] pg/mL, p≤0.037), while levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10 were lower than the initial values by 96%, 100%, 36% and 56%, respectively (0.06 [0.03; 0.45] vs. 1.65 [1.2;2.3], p≤0.034; 0 [0; 0.02] vs. 0.09 [0.05; 1.1], p≤0.031; 14.5 [8.5; 15.9] vs. 22.9 [18.1; 24.3], p≤0.042; 3.3 [2.7; 4.1] vs. 7.5 [6.4; 8.3] pg/mL, p≤0.038). No changes were found in the levels of IL-1β and IL-8 in the peripheral blood. Conclusions: Immunotherapy with pembrolizumab in the studied cohort of NSCLC patients after the 8th CIT cycle was characterized by a decline in the levels of cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10) determining the development of the cellular and humoral immune response, which may contribute to the treatment results.