The substantially high expression of PD-L1 and the increase in PD-L1 and PD-1 expression after chemotherapy supports anti-PD-1/L1 drugs therapy for TM and TC as well as the development of a strategy for its sequential use after chemotherapy.

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Background/Aim: No definitive biomarker exists for predicting treatment efficacy or response to therapy with antibody to programmed cell death-1 (PD1) for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Hence, we investigated whether the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) predicted anti-PD1 treatment response for advanced NSCLC. Patients and Methods: This study retrospectively identified 47 patients with NSCLC treated with anti-PD1 and assessed the prognostic value of the GPS. The GPS was calculated using Creactive protein and albumin concentrations 1 month after starting anti-PD1 treatment. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine differences in progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival, and clinical response. Results: The post-treatment GPS independently predicted anti-PD1 treatment efficacy, as a good post-treatment GPS (GPS 0-1) was significantly associated with improved PFS. Intra-treatment GPS change was associated with clinical response. Conclusion: The post-treatment GPS independently predicted efficacy of anti-PD1 treatment for NSCLC.Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide (1); most cases are diagnosed at advanced or inoperable stages. Advanced cases often involve weight loss 1455

BackgroundPulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma (PPC) follows an aggressive clinical course and outcomes are disappointing. Due to its rarity, however, the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of this disease remain unclear.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of chemotherapy and molecular targeted therapy in 16 patients with PPC who received chemotherapy or EGFR-TKI. We also investigated the status of EGFR mutation, KRAS mutation and ALK expression.ResultsOn histologic review of the malignant epithelial component, adenocarcinoma was identified in seven cases (43.8 %), large cell carcinoma in four (25.0 %), and squamous cell carcinoma in two (12.5 %). For the sarcomatoid component, 14 cases (87.5 %) had both spindle cell tumor and giant cell and 2 (12.5 %) had giant cell. Eleven patients received cytotoxic chemotherapy as first-line but did not achieve an objective response, although one patient who received docetaxel as second-line achieved a partial response. We also found that one patient achieved long stable disease of about 9 years without progression after receiving cisplatin and gemcitabine treatment. EGFR mutation, KRAS mutation and ALK expression were investigated in 14 patients whose tumor specimens were available. EGFR mutation was observed in 2 (14.3 %) and KRAS mutation in 3 (21.4 %), while no patient was positive for ALK expression. One patient harboring EGFR exon 19 deletion was treated with gefitinib after postoperative recurrence and achieved a complete response of about 35 months.ConclusionsAlthough advanced PPC showed a poor response to chemotherapy, one patient with EGFR mutation achieved an extended complete response. We therefore recommend the evaluation of driver gene alteration such as EGFR in the treatment of advanced PPC.

Our data suggest that anti-MDA5-positive patients with CADM who also have MAAs have a better prognosis than those without MAAs; thus, anti-MDA5 autoantibodies by themselves may not be strong predictors of worse clinical outcomes in patients with CADM. Coexistent MAAs could be biomarkers for a favorable prognosis in anti-MDA5-positive patients with CADM.