Cachexia index as a prognostic indicator in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab plus...

The association between cachexia index (CXI) and prognosis in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is unclear. We investigated the prognostic impact of pretreatment CXI in patients with metastatic RCC that were receiving nivolumab plus ipilimumab (NIVO + IPI) as a first-line therapy.

This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 141 patients who were treated with NIVO + IPI as a first-line treatment for metastatic RCC and whose pretreatment CXI was available. They were dichotomized using the median CXI, and we compared progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between the groups. Cox proportional regression analyses sought to identify the predictors of PFS and OS.

The median CXI value was 47.1. The rates of no prior resection of the primary site and IMDC poor risk in the low CXI group were significantly higher than those in the high CXI group. The low CXI group had significantly lower PFS and OS than the high CXI group (median: 6 months vs. 14 months, P < 0.01 and median: 18 months vs. 52 months, P < 0.01, respectively). In multivariable analyses, no resection of the primary site was the only significant predictor of poor PFS (P = 0.03). Meanwhile, low CXI was a significant predictor of poor OS (P = 0.03) in addition to no prior resection of primary site and histologic subtype other than clear cell RCC (P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively).

Pretreatment CXI could become a useful prognostic marker in patients with metastatic RCC receiving NIVO + IPI.