Prospective validation study of nutritional and immunological predictors of immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy for non-small cell lung cancer

A multicenter prospective observational study in Japan was carried out to validate the clinical impact of nutritional and immunological indices in 301 NSCLC patients treated with first-line immune checkpoint inhibitors. Analysis of progression-free survival showed that neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, Glasgow Prognostic Score, Prognostic Nutritional Index, Controlling Nutritional Status, Sarcopenia, and PD-L1 expression were significantly associated with PFS. In multivarate analysis, performance status (p=0.0104), PD-L1 expression (p<0.001), Glasgow Prognostic Score, and Skeletal Muscle Area (p=0.0367) were independent predictors of PFS, while PD-L expression (p=0.0017) and Skeletal Muscl Area (p=0.0354) were significant predictors of objective response. The authors conclude that the study validated nutritional and immunological indices as significant predictors of efficacy of first-line immune checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC.