Impact of concurrent ACE inhibitors and ARBs on outcomes with immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for patients (pts) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

Abstract

354 Background: The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is involved in regulation of angiogenesis and cell proliferation and may improve drug delivery by enhancing tumor perfusion partly by downregulating transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. Since (TGF)-β appears to be associated with resistance in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), we investigated whether angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may enhance the outcomes of mRCC pts receiving ICI. Methods: Data from mRCC pts who received ICIs at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) was obtained. Data for ACEI and ARB administration was collected with concurrent administration defined as ongoing therapy from the time of starting ICI . The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox were used to evaluate the impact of concurrent ACEI/ARB on overall survival (OS). Results: Data was available for 134 pts. The mean age was 63 years (Range 37-85)). 94 (70%) pts were male. The therapies included Nivolumab+/-Other (104), Atezolizumab+/-Other (21), Pembrolizumab+/-Other (8) and Durvalumab +Tremelimumab (1). 35 (25%) pts received ICI as first line treatment, 52 (39%) received as second line treatment, and 48 (36%) received as third line or higher. Out of the 134 pts, 39 (29%) had been treated with an ACEI or ARB during ICI treatment. Out of the 39 pts who had ACEI or ARB, 2 (5%) had complete response (CR) as best response, 11 (28%) had partial response (PR), 17 (46%) had stable disease (SD) and 9 (23%) had progressive disease (PD). Out of the 95 pts who did not receive ACEI or ARB, 3 pts (3%) had CR as their best response to ICI, 19 (21%) had PR, 39 (43%) had SD, and 29 (32%) had PD, (5 patients’ best response were unevaluable). The median OS for those who had ACEI/ARBs and did not have ACEI/ARBs was 32 months and 20 months respectively. Univariable analysis revealed that patients who received ACEI/ARBs had improved OS (Logrank p-value = 0.002; HR = 2.5 [95%CI: 1.4 - 4.5]). Conclusions: In this hypothesis-generating study, concurrent ACEI/ARBs are associated with better outcomes for mRCC pts receiving ICIs. Given the availability of ACEI/ARBs, it is important to validate this result in a larger dataset and after controlling for known prognostic factors.