An Exploratory Study of Early Immune Response Markers for Pembrolizumab in Urothelial Tract Cancer

Background: This prospective pilot study explored the potential of the innate immune system’s response to cancer-related immuno-stimulants as a predictive biomarker for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) effectiveness, using pembrolizumab-treated metastatic urothelial tract cancer (mUTC) patients as the study population. Methods: We included ten mUTC patients and assessed their innate immune responses before the first and second pembrolizumab cycles with the TruCulture® immunoassay. We also executed survival analysis and compared cytokine release. Results: R848-induced IFNα and HKCA-induced IL-10 values decreased in patients with disease progression (n = 7), while these values increased in non-progressing patients (n = 3), denoting a significant difference (p = 0.00192 and p = 0.00343, respectively). Further, an increased R848-induced IFNα response correlated with extended survival (log-rank p-value of 0.048). Conclusion: Our small study identified distinct immune response patterns following pembrolizumab’s first cycle in mUTC patients, hypothesizing the potential of an increased R848-induced IFNα response for improved survival outcomes. Further confirmatory studies are in progress

DataSheet1_Muscle mass and physical function in patients with bladder cancer—Data from a prematurely terminated prospective cohort study.pdf

BackgroundPatients with bladder cancer (BC) have a high prevalence of comorbidity and low adherence to systemic anticancer treatment but it is unknown whether this is associated with sarcopenia.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate if the sarcopenia-defining parameters (muscle strength, muscle mass and physical performance) were associated with reduced adherence to systemic anticancer treatment in patients with BC, and if these muscle domains changed during treatment.MethodsPatients >18 years of age with BC referred for chemotherapy or immunotherapy at Department of Oncology, Rigshospitalet, Denmark were eligible for study inclusion. Measurements were performed before treatment initiation and within one week after treatment termination, and consisted of assessments of muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical performance. Data was compared with thresholds outlined by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older Patient's (EWGSOP2) guidelines and a healthy, age-matched Danish cohort.ResultsOver a period of 29 months, we included 14 patients of whom two completed follow-up measurements. The recruitment rate was ConclusionsIn this prematurely terminated study, no patients fulfilled EWGSOP2 criteria for sarcopenia, yet, most patients were affected in one or more muscle domains and the majority had compromised treatment adherence.</p