Association Between Immune-related Adverse Events and Clinical Outcome Following Nivolumab Treatment in Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background/Aim: Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are associated with the efficacy of immune-checkpoint inhibitors in patients with melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. We therefore evaluated the relationship between irAEs and nivolumab efficacy against metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Patients and Methods: The medical records of 53 consecutive patients were reviewed and analyzed. Results: Median overall survival was significantly better in patients who showed irAEs at any time compared to patients without irAEs (p=0.013). We identified irAEs in 24 of 53 patients (45.3%), including four patients (75%) with grade 3 events. Multivariate analysis also revealed that risk factors for the onset of irAEs were positively associated with a platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio <156 before nivolumab treatment (p=0.006). Conclusion: Development of irAEs was associated with survival outcomes of nivolumab treated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.