Prognostic and Predictive Value of Peripheral Blood Circulating Tumor Cell PD-L1 Expression and F-18-FDG Metabolic Parameters in Advanced NSCLC Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Liquid biopsy plus PET imaging together may predict who benefits from immunotherapy in advanced lung cancer.
In 42 advanced NSCLC patients receiving ICI therapy, PD-L1-positive mesenchymal circulating tumor cells and total lesion glycolysis (WTLG on PET) independently predicted progression-free and overall survival with robust bootstrap-corrected discrimination. This liquid biopsy plus functional imaging composite may offer a non-invasive approach to predict ICI outcomes, though tissue PD-L1 and CTC PD-L1 were not concordant.
What the study was
- Study design
- Prospective biomarker study
- Population
- Advanced/metastatic NSCLC receiving first-line ICI monotherapy or ICI+chemo; n=42
- Sample size
- 42
- Category
- Diagnostics
- Maturity
- Exploratory
- Journal
- Cancer Medicine
Why it surfaced
Novel composite CTC+PET prognostic model for ICI outcomes; bootstrap validation is a strength; small n=42 limits generalizability; EMT-PD-L1 link is biologically interesting.
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