Analysis of immune response induced by radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K17207
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 53030:Respiratory medicine-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Tsukita Yoko 東北大学, 大学病院, 助教 (50822566)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 非小細胞肺癌 / 免疫療法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Our objective was to elucidate the immune response in untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy prior to initiation of immunotherapy plus cytotoxic agents. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, cytokines and damage-associated molecular patterns in plasma before and after the treatment were examined in 13 patients who received radiotherapy. It was not possible to identify any factors that showed statistically or clinically significant changes by radiotherapy.
A comparison of 13 patients in the response group with 6 patients in the non-response group showed that NK cells, PD-1 positive Tim-3 positive CD4 positive T cells and CXCL10 in the pretreatment blood were significantly elevated in the response group. We found the combination of these three factors may be a more useful predictive biomarker in clinical practice.

Free Research Field

肺癌

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

未治療進行非小細胞肺癌において、免疫療法と殺細胞性抗癌剤との併用療法の効果予測となりうる因子を同定した。組織ではなく血液を使用することでより低侵襲に治療効果を予測できれば、肺癌患者の治療選択に貢献できると考える。