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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
A Syngeneic Mouse Model of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma for Quantitative and Longitudinal Assessment of Preclinical Therapies
Published on: April 12, 2017
Fat Mass and Survival in Immunotherapy-Treated Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients
Tanguy Bouget1, Marine Lottin2, Abeer Najem3
1Faculté de Médecine, Université de Lille, Lille, France, tanguyb@live.fr.
Introduction:
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely prescribed as the first-line treatment for metastatic renal clear-cell carcinoma because of their overall survival (OS) benefits. However, ICIs are associated with unreliable efficacy and sometimes severe and unpredictable toxicities. There is a lack of biomarkers for efficacy or toxicity beyond the IMDC score. Body composition (fat and muscle mass) may also be a biomarker of interest. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the association between body composition, OS, and toxicities in patients with RCC treated with ICI as a first-line metastatic treatment.
Methods:
Body composition parameters - subcutaneous fat index (SFI), visceral fat index (VFI), total fat index (TFI), and skeletal muscle index (SMI) - were measured on computed tomography scans using semiautomated software.
Results:
In 71 patients, no significant association was found between TFI and OS (adjusted HR, 0.71 [0.35; 1.45]) or toxicities. The TFI was strongly correlated with BMI (r = 0.81), whereas the SFI and VFI were weakly correlated.
Conclusion:
Larger studies would be valuable to better define the thresholds of different parameters (SFI, VFI, TFI, and SMI) and their association with the efficacy and toxicity of ICI.
