Abstract
Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint immunotherapy (ICI) is a promising treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Currently, patient stratification is based upon immunohistochemical PD-L1 expression on tumor cells. Unfortunately, the therapy is only successful in 20-30% of ICI treated patients and it is associated with severe immune-related side effects. Therefore, biomarkers predicting ICI response for a better patient stratification are needed. In a proof-of-concept study based on 25 NSCLC biopsies, the human neutrophil peptides 1, 2 and 3 (HNP1-3) were discovered as potential predictive biomarkers for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 ICI response by using the innovative technology of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) and these biomarkers were verified by using traditional immunohistochemistry. In this study, NSCLC patient stratification to therapy response was improved fourfold compared to the current method (patent pending). In this project, we aim to validate HNP1-3 as predictive biomarkers in a multicentered larger NSCLC patient cohort (213 biopsies). After successful completion, the results of this project will serve as a base for the development of a companion diagnostic immunohistochemistry test with a newly developed HNP-specific antibody, to make these predictive markers widely available and ready to use in standard clinical testing.
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