Pretreatment eosinophil counts in patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors Journal Article


Authors: Mota, J. M.; Teo, M. Y.; Whiting, K.; Li, H. A.; Regazzi, A. M.; Lee, C. H.; Funt, S. A.; Bajorin, D.; Ostrovnaya, I.; Iyer, G.; Rosenberg, J. E.
Article Title: Pretreatment eosinophil counts in patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors
Abstract: Eosinophils influence antitumor immunity and may predict response to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). To examine the association between blood eosinophil counts and outcomes in patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) treated with ICIs, we identified 2 ICI-treated cohorts: discovery (n=60) and validation (n=111). Chemotherapy cohorts were used as comparators (first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, n=75; second-line or more pemetrexed, n=77). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints were time on treatment (ToT) and progression-free survival. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard models. Associations between changes in eosinophil count at weeks 2/3 and 6 after the start of ICI treatment were analyzed using landmark analyses. Baseline characteristics of the ICI cohorts were similar. In the discovery cohort, an optimal cutoff for pretreatment eosinophil count was determined [Eos-Lo: <100 cells/μL; n=9 (15%); Eos-Hi: ≥100 cells/μL; n=51 (85%)]. Eos-Lo was associated with inferior outcomes [OS: hazard ratio (HR), 3.98; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.85-8.56; P<0.013; ToT: HR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.17-5.10; P=0.017]. This was confirmed in the validation cohort [Eos-Lo: n=17 (15%); Eos-Hi: n=94 (85%)] (OS: HR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.31-4.80; P=0.006; ToT: HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.2-3.80; P=0.004), and remained significant after adjustment for other prognostic factors. Changes in eosinophil counts at weeks 2/3 and 6 were not clearly associated with outcomes. In chemotherapy cohorts, eosinophil counts were not associated with outcomes. In conclusion, low pretreatment eosinophil count was associated with poorer outcomes in patients with mUC treated with ICIs, and may represent a new predictive biomarker. © 2021 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Keywords: bladder cancer; immunotherapy; metastatic urothelial carcinoma; eosinophils; predictive factor
Journal Title: Journal of Immunotherapy
Volume: 44
Issue: 7
ISSN: 1524-9557
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins  
Date Published: 2021-09-01
Start Page: 248
End Page: 253
Language: English
DOI: 10.1097/cji.0000000000000372
PUBMED: 34081050
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC8373810
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 September 2021 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Dean Bajorin
    658 Bajorin
  2. Gopakumar Vasudeva Iyer
    344 Iyer
  3. Ashley Regazzi
    89 Regazzi
  4. Jonathan Eric Rosenberg
    511 Rosenberg
  5. Chung-Han   Lee
    157 Lee
  6. Samuel Aaron Funt
    136 Funt
  7. Min Yuen   Teo
    105 Teo
  8. Jose Mauricio Mota
    13 Mota
  9. Karissa A. Whiting
    47 Whiting