ArticleCancers2022
High Serum Levels of IL-6 Predict Poor Responses in Patients Treated with Pembrolizumab plus Axitinib for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma.
Article in Cancers, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic literature review of real-world evidence on overall survival in cancer patients before and after the approval of anti-PD-(L)1 therapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Circulating proteins as biomarkers of response to cancer immunotherapy (Review).International journal of oncology · 2026Review
- Efficacy and safety of tocilizumab for neoplastic fever in patients with advanced solid tumors: a multicenter retrospective study.The oncologist · 2026Article
- Review
- Obesity-driven metabolic reprogramming and immune dysfunction in renal cancer.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Urine C-reactive protein content and non-invasive molecular grading of renal cell carcinoma.Kidney cancer journal : official journal of the Kidney Cancer Association · 2025Article
- The Role of P53 in Immune Evasion and Therapeutic Strategies in Hematologic Malignancies.Journal of Cancer · 2025Review
- Immune-related events in individuals with solid tumors on immunotherapy associate with Th17 and Th2 signatures.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Observational
- Peripheral immune biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibition of solid tumours.Clinical and translational medicine · 2024Review
- Serum cytokines and creatinine/cystatin C ratio as prognostic biomarkers in advanced cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- Early kinetics of C-reactive protein as prognosticator for survival in a real-world cohort of patients with metastatic renal cell cancer under first-line therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2024Article
- Blood-based circulating biomarkers for prediction of immune-checkpoint inhibitors efficacy in renal cell carcinoma.Exploration of targeted anti-tumor therapy · 2024Review
- The effects of postoperative targeted immunotherapy on peripheral blood cytokines and immune cell profile in lung cancer patients.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Article
- Article
- High serum IL-6 correlates with reduced clinical benefit of atezolizumab and bevacizumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2023Article
- Liquid biopsy evaluation of circulating tumor DNA, miRNAs, and cytokines in meningioma patients.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- The components of tumor microenvironment as biomarker for immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- High levels of baseline serum IL-10 are associated with reduced clinical benefit from first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in advanced renal cell carcinoma.Journal of Cancer · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney malignancy worldwide with Pembrolizumab and axitinib treatment (Pembro/Axi) amongst the most effective first-line immunotherapies for advanced RCC. However, it remains difficult to predict treatment response and early resistance. Therefore, we evaluated whether baseline serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) could be a predictive biomarker. Between November 2019 and December 2021, 58 patients with advanced RCC were enrolled, administered first-line Pembro/Axi, and baseline blood samples were analyzed using flow cytometry. The mean baseline serum IL-6 concentration was 8.6 pg/mL in responders and 84.1 pg/mL in patients with progressive disease. The IL-6 cut-off value was set at 6.5 pg/mL using time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves, with 37.9% of patients having high baseline serum IL-6 levels and 62.1% having low levels. Objective response rates were 58.3% and 36.4% in low and high IL-6 groups, respectively. Overall survival and progression-free survival were longer in patients with low IL-6 levels than in those with high levels. High IL-6 levels were related to reduced interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α production from CD8+ T cells. Overall, high baseline serum IL-6 levels were associated with worse survival outcomes and reduced T-cell responses in Pembro/Axi-treated advanced RCC patients.
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Registered trials
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