Prognostic value of hematologic parameters in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving anti-PD-1 inhibitors.

Background: The association between hematologic parameters and anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors was generally examined without considering therapy lines and medicine types. The study was aimed to identify potential hematologic biomarkers associated with clinical outcome in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with first-line pembrolizumab and subsequent-line nivolumab. Materials and methods: 161 NSCLC patients were categorized into first-line pembrolizumab group (pembrolizumab group) and subsequent-line nivolumab group (nivolumab group). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the prognostic value of hematologic parameters for clinical outcomes. Results: The median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 9.6 months in the pembrolizumab group and 4.1 months in the nivolumab group (HR =1.61; P = 0.012); the median overall survival (mOS) was not reached in the pembrolizumab group and 17.7 months in the nivolumab group (HR =1.37; P = 0.23). Of the 79 patients in the pembrolizumab group, baseline PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS)≥1% was an independent factor of longer PFS and OS. Age≥60 years, absolute platelet count (APC)≥220×10 Conclusion: Our study identified multiple clinically accessible prognostic biomarkers in the peripheral blood in both the pembrolizumab and nivolumab subgroups.