Abstract
We evaluated immune cell frequencies in peripheral blood samples of 41 NSCLC patients before and after second-line therapy with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agents. Changes in lymphocyte subsets and their correlation with clinical response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. We observed an increase in median values of all lymphocyte subsets, being significant only for NK cells. A correlation was retrieved between higher post-treatment NK cell level and clinical benefit. On multivariate analysis, PD-L1 tumor proportion score ≥1% and higher post-treatment NK cell counts were predictive of longer PFS and OS. Co-presence of these factors was characterized by longer survival.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in “figshare” at http://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14812779.