[en] BACKGROUND: Only a fraction of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) will respond to chemo- or immunotherapy. For the majority, the condition will irremediably relapse after 13 to 18 months. In this study, we hypothesized that patients' outcome could be correlated to their immune cell profile. Focus was given to peripheral blood eosinophils that, paradoxically, can both promote or inhibit tumor growth depending on the cancer type.
METHODS: The characteristics of 242 patients with histologically proven MPM were retrospectively collected in three centers. Characteristics included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). The mean absolute eosinophil counts (AEC) were determined by averaging AEC data sets of the last month preceding the administration of chemo- or immunotherapy.
RESULTS: An optimal cutoff of 220 eosinophils/µL of blood segregated the cohort into two groups with significantly different median OS after chemotherapy (14 and 29 months above and below the threshold, p = 0.0001). The corresponding two-year OS rates were 28% and 55% in the AEC ≥ 220/µL and AEC < 220/µL groups, respectively. Based on shorter median PFS (8 vs 17 months, p < 0.0001) and reduced DCR (55.9% vs 35.2% at 6 months), the response to standard chemotherapy was significantly affected in the AEC ≥ 220/µL subset. Similar conclusions were also drawn from data sets of patients receiving immune checkpoint-based immunotherapy.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, baseline AEC ≥ 220/µL preceding therapy is associated with worse outcome and quicker relapse in MPM.
Disciplines :
Oncology
Author, co-author :
Willems, Mégane ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre
Scherpereel, Arnaud; Department of Pneumology and Thoracic Oncology, (CHU Lille) and INSERM (ONCOTHAI), Lille, France
Wasielewski, Eric; Department of Pneumology and Thoracic Oncology, (CHU Lille) and INSERM (ONCOTHAI), Lille, France
Raskin, Jo; Department of Pulmonology and Thoracic Oncology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
Brossel, Hélène ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Cancer - Cellular and Molecular Epigenetics
Fontaine, Alexis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Cancer - Cellular and Molecular Epigenetics
Grégoire, Mélanie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre
Halkin, Louise ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Microbial technologies
Jamakhani, Majeed ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Cancer - Cellular and Molecular Epigenetics
Heinen, Vincent ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de pneumologie - allergologie
Louis, Renaud ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de pneumologie - allergologie
Duysinx, Bernard ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de pneumologie - allergologie
Hamaïdia, Malik ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Microbial technologies
Willems, Luc ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Cancer - Cellular and Molecular Epigenetics
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE] Télévie [BE] Belgian Foundation Against Cancer [BE] ULg FSR - Université de Liège. Fonds spéciaux pour la recherche [BE] Fonds Léon Fredericq [BE]
Funding text :
This work was supported by the Belgian Foundation against Cancer, the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), the Télévie, and the Fondation Léon Fredericq. Acknowledgments
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