The combination of the changes and the value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is useful for prediction of response for advanced gastric cancer treated with nivolumab: A multicenter retrospective study.

Abstract

150 Background: The ATTRACTION-2 study showed that nivolumab is effective in treating advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Many studies have examined the effectiveness of predictive factors. We previously suggested that neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was associated with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the changes of NLR for AGC treated with nivolumab. Methods: Data on patients with AGC treated with nivolumab from November 2014 to December 2017 were collected at two centers. NLRs were calculated before the first cycle (NLRpre) and 2 weeks after the first cycle (NLRpost) of nivolumab, and the changes in NLR (cNLR) was calculated by NLRpost/NLRpre. The association of NLRpre and cNLR with the disease control rate (DCR) and PFS were assessed. Results: Forty-one patients (pts), with the median age of 64 years, were enrolled. Twenty-seven pts were men and 14 were women. Regarding ECOG PS, 34 pts had scores of 0-1 and 7 had a score of 2. The median NLRpre, NLRpost, and cNLR were 2.01 (range, 0.79–18.4), 2.76 (1.27–12.3), and 1.22 (0.16–5.20), respectively. With a median follow-up period of 6.1 months, DCR was 34.1% (complete response [CR], 1 pt; partial response [PR] 3 pts, stable disease [SD], 10 pts). Patients were divided into 3 classes: 8 in Class I (NLRpre≤5 and cNLR≤ 1); 17 in Class II (NLRpre ≤ 5 and 1 < cNLR≤ 2); and 16 in Class III (NLRpre> 5 or cNLR > 2). There were 8 pts, 17 pts, and 16 pts in Class I, II, and III, respectively. DCRs of Class I, II, and III was 87.5% (CR, 1 pt; PR, 2 pts; SD 4 pts), 29.4% (PR, 1 pts; SD 4 pts), and 12.5% (SD 2 pts), respectively. The median PFS was 2.0 months (mo), and it was longer in Class I than in Classes II+III (5.6 vs. 1.4 mo; p = 0.017) and shorter in Class III than in Classes I+II (3.1 vs. 1.3 mo; p = 0.008). The median PFS was 2.0 months (mo). The median PFS was longer in Class I compared with in Class II+III (5.6 vs 1.4 mo; p = 0.017). The median PFS was shorter in Class III compared with in Class I+II (3.1 vs 1.3 mo; p = 0.008). Conclusions: The combined use of NLRpre and cNLR seemed to be effective in predicting the response of AGC to nivolumab.