Baseline circulating unswitched memory B cells and B-cell related soluble factors are associated with overall survival in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab within the NIVOREN GETUG-AFU 26 study.

BACKGROUND: The phase II NIVOREN GETUG-AFU 26 study reported safety and efficacy of nivolumab in patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (m-ccRCC) in a 'real-world setting'. We conducted a translational-research program to determine whether specific circulating immune-cell populations and/or soluble factors at baseline were predictive of clinical outcomes in patients with m-ccRCC treated with nivolumab within the NIVOREN study. METHODS: Absolute numbers of 106 circulating immune-cell populations were prospectively analyzed in patients treated at a single institution within the NIVOREN trial with available fresh-whole-blood, using dry formulation panels for multicolor flow cytometry. In addition, a panel of 14 predefined soluble factors was quantified for each baseline plasma sample using the Meso-Scale-Discovery immunoassay. The remaining patients with available plasma sample were used as a validation cohort for the soluble factor quantification analysis. Tumor immune microenvironment characterization of all patients included in the translational program of the study was available. The association of blood and tissue-based biomarkers, with overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and response was analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 44 patients, baseline unswitched memory B cells (NSwM B cells) were enriched in responders (p=0.006) and associated with improved OS (HR=0.08, p=0.002) and PFS (HR=0.54, p=0.048). Responders were enriched in circulating T follicular helper (Tfh) (p=0.027) and tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) (p=0.043). Circulating NSwM B cells positively correlated with Tfh (r=0.70, p<0.001). Circulating NSwM B cells correlated positively with TLS and CD20 +B cells at the tumor center (r=0.59, p=0.044, and r=0.52, p=0.033) and inversely correlated with BCA-1/CXCL13 and BAFF (r=-0.55 and r=-0.42, p<0.001). Tfh cells also inversely correlated with BCA-1/CXCL13 (r=-0.61, p<0.001). IL-6, BCA-1/CXCL13 and BAFF significantly associated with worse OS in the discovery (n=40) and validation cohorts (n=313). CONCLUSION: We report the first fresh blood immune-monitoring of patients with m-ccRCC treated with nivolumab. Baseline blood concentration of NSwM B cells was associated to response, PFS and OS in patients with m-ccRCC treated with nivolumab. BCA-1/CXCL13 and BAFF, inversely correlated to NSwM B cells, were both associated with worse OS in discovery and validation cohorts. Our data confirms a role for B cell subsets in the response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy in patients with m-ccRCC. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Association of AXL and PD-L1 Expression with Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated with PD-1 Blockade.

PURPOSE: A minority of patients currently respond to single-agent immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB), and strategies to increase response rates are urgently needed. AXL is a receptor tyrosine kinase commonly associated with drug resistance and poor prognosis in many cancer types, including in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Recent experimental cues in breast, pancreatic, and lung cancer models have linked AXL with immune suppression and resistance to antitumor immunity. However, its role in intrinsic and acquired resistance to ICB remains largely unexplored. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: In this study, tumoral expression of AXL was examined in ccRCC specimens from 316 patients who were metastatic receiving the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab in the GETUG AFU 26 NIVOREN trial after failure of antiangiogenic therapy. We assessed associations between AXL and patient outcomes following PD-1 blockade, as well as the relationship with various markers, including PD-L1; VEGFA; the immune markers CD3, CD8, CD163, and CD20; and the mutational status of the tumor-suppressor gene von Hippel-Lindau (VHL). RESULTS: Our results show that high AXL-expression level in tumor cells is associated with lower response rates and a trend to shorter progression-free survival following anti-PD-1 treatment. AXL expression was strongly associated with tumor-PD-L1 expression, especially in tumors with VHL inactivation. Moreover, patients with tumors displaying concomitant PD-L1 expression and high AXL expression had the worst overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings propose AXL as candidate factor of resistance to PD-1 blockade, and provide compelling support for screening both AXL and PD-L1 expression in the management of advanced ccRCC.See related commentary by Hahn et al., p. 6619.

Effects of Astrocaryum aculeatum Meyer (Tucumã) on Diet-Induced Dyslipidemic Rats.

An in vivo study was conducted to assess the effects of the consumption of Astrocaryum aculeatum Amazon Meyer (tucumã) in the treatment of diet-induced dyslipidemia in sedentary and exercised Wistar rats. With an average weight of 350 grams, 40 male rats were divided into 4 subgroups of 10. The sedentary control group (SCG) was fed with commercial feed, while the sedentary treatment group (STG) was fed with a ration of tucumã. In addition to the sedentary groups, two exercise groups were formed. The Exercised control group (ECG) was fed with commercial food and the exercised treatment group (ETG) was fed with a ration of tucumã. Body weight gain and food intake were monitored during the experiment. Plasma was analyzed for cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL, total protein, glucose, insulin, and leptin concentrations. Our results show that the ECG group tended to consume more food, while the groups that were fed with tucumã pulp (STG and ETG) presented a greater tendency to gain body mass. ECG group showed a tendency towards a higher concentration of cholesterol in plasma, while STG and ETG presented higher absolute values for triglycerides and VLDL. No hypolipiemic effect was observed related to tucuma ingestion.