Immune microenvironment features and efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in non-small cell lung cancer patients with EGFR or HER2 exon 20 insertions
THORACIC CANCER
Authors: Chen, Kaiyan; Pan, Guoqiang; Cheng, Guoping; Zhang, Fanrong; Xu, Yanjun; Huang, Zhiyu; Fan, Yun
Abstract
Background Insertions in exon 20 (Ex20ins) of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are relatively insensitive to first- and second-generation EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to investigate the immune microenvironment features and efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade of NSCLC with EGFR and HER2 Ex20ins. Methods Clinical characteristics, coexisting mutations, and outcomes to EGFR-TKIs and immune checkpoint blockade were reviewed for NSCLC patients with exon 20 mutations of EGFR or HER2. Data obtained included the molecular spectrum (extended genotyping for mutations in 324 cancer-related genes), as well as tumor mutational burden (TMB), PD-L1 protein expression, and the abundance of CD4+ and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Results A total of 1270 NSCLC patients were identified. Of these, 504 (39.7%) cases had EGFR mutations and 6.9% (35/504) of them had EGFR Ex20ins. Meanwhile, 21 (1.7%) cases with HER2 Ex20ins were detected. Comprehensive genomic profiling identified A767_V769dup variant (25.0%) was the most common type in tumors with EGFR Ex20ins. Co-occurring mutations were not uncommon including TP53 (45%), PIK3CA (20%), CDKN2A (10%), and EGFR amplification (20%). The average TMB was 3.3 mutations/megabase. PD-L1 expression in patients with EGFR Ex20ins was significantly higher than for those with HER2 mutations (48.6% vs. 19.0%, P = 0.027). High TMB and PD-L1 expression was independently associated with significantly poor prognosis (P = 0.025, P = 0.045, respectively) while there was no association between CD4+/CD8+ TILs and prognosis in EGFR or HER2 mutant NSCLC. Finally, patients harboring EGFR Ex20ins seemed to be sensitive to PD-1/PD-L1 blockage whereas it showed limited efficacy in patients with HER2 Ex20ins. Conclusions NSCLC patients with EGFR/HER2 Ex20ins had similar genomic characteristics and distinct immune features. Patients with EGFR Ex20ins had significantly higher PD-L1 expression than those with HER2 mutations, which may be the potential reason for the different responses to PD-1/PD-L1 blockage.
Usefulness of atherogenic index of plasma for estimating reduced eGFR risk: insights from the national health and nutrition examination survey
POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE
Authors: Zhou, Yaping; Shang, Xiuli
Abstract
Aims Previous studies have identified Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) as a simple measure of atherosclerosis. Because atherosclerosis plays a role in the development of renal damage, our study aims to evaluate the effect of AIP on the risk of reduced eGFR and assess its usefulness to refine the risk stratification of reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Methods Our study included 15,836 participants from the National Health and Nutritional Survey (NHANES) 2009-2016. Association was investigated by logistic regression. AIP was calculated as log (triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). Reduced eGFR was determined as eGFR < 60 ml/min per 1.73 m*2. Results The prevalence of reduced eGFR was 8.01%. In the full model, each SD increase of AIP leaded to 27.4% additional risk for reduced eGFR. After dividing AIP into quartiles, the fourth quartile had a 1.649 times risk than the first quartile. Moreover, smooth curve fitting suggested that the risk of reduced eGFR elevated linearly with the increase of AIP. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the association between AIP and reduced eGFR was robust in sex, body mass index, hypertension, and diabetes subpopulation, but the association was significantly stronger in black race and people aged less than 50 years old. Additionally, AUC displayed an advancement when introducing AIP into established risk factors (0.875 cs. 0.897, P < 0.001), category-free net reclassification index (0.249, 95% CI: 0.192-0.306, P < 0.001) and integrated discrimination index (0.007, 95% CI: 0.004-0.009, P < 0.001) also suggested the improvement from AIP. Conclusion The present work suggested a linear association between AIP and reduced eGFR. Furthermore, the results showed that the association was stronger in black race and people aged less than 50 years old. Most importantly, our work implicated the usefulness of AIP to refine the risk stratification of reduced eGFR.