Mean platelet volume, thrombocytosis, and survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with first-line pembrolizumab alone or with chemotherapy

Introduction Patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) may not response to treatment and are at risk for immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Platelet function has been linked to both oncogenesis and immune evasion. We studied the association between the change in mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet count, survival, and the risk of developing irAEs in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have received first-line ICI. Methods In this retrospective study, delta (∆) MPV was defined as the difference between cycle 2 and baseline MPV. Patient data were collected via chart review, and Cox proportional hazard and Kaplan–Meier method were used to assess the risk and estimate median overall survival. Results We identified 188 patients treated with first-line pembrolizumab, with or without concurrent chemotherapy. There were 80 (42.6%) patients received pembrolizumab monotherapy, and 108 (57.4%) received pembrolizumab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients whose MPV (∆MPV ≤ 0) decreased had hazard ratio (HR) = 0.64 (95% CI 0.43–0.94) for death with p = 0.023. Patients with ∆MPV ≤ − 0.2 fL (median), there was a 58% increase in the risk of developing irAE (HR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.04–2.40, p = 0.031). Thrombocytosis at baseline and cycle 2 was associated with shorter OS with p = 0.014 and 0.039, respectively. Conclusion Change in MPV after 1 cycle of pembrolizumab-based treatment was significantly associated with overall survival as well as the occurrence of irAEs in patients with metastatic NSCLC in the first-line setting. In addition, thrombocytosis was associated with poor survival.