INTRODUCTION

Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy has recently been the standard of care for resectable locally advanced NSCLC. Factors affecting the neoadjuvant immunotherapy efficacy, however, remain elusive. Metabolites have been found to modulate immunity and associate with immunotherapeutic efficacy in advanced tumors. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of plasma metabolites on the pathologic response after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy.

METHODS

Patients with stage IIIA (N2) NSCLC who underwent neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in a prospective phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04422392) were enrolled. Metabolomic profiling of the plasma before treatment was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. A Lewis lung carcinoma mouse model was further used to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Proteomics and multiplexed immunofluorescence of the mice tumor were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 39 patients who underwent three cycles of anti-programmed cell death-protein 1 (anti-PD-1) (sintilimab) and chemotherapy were included. The level of acetaminophen (APAP) was found to be significantly elevated in patients who did not achieve major pathologic response. The level of APAP remained an independent predictor for major pathologic response in multivariate logistic analysis. In the Lewis lung carcinoma mouse model, combination of APAP and anti-PD-1 treatment significantly reduced the treatment efficacy compared with anti-PD-1 treatment alone. Proteomics of the tumor revealed that myeloid leukocyte activation and neutrophil activation pathways were enriched after APAP treatment. Tumor microenvironment featuring analysis also revealed that the combination treatment group was characterized with more abundant neutrophil signature. Further multiplexed immunofluorescence confirmed that more neutrophil extracellular trap formation was observed in the combination treatment group.

CONCLUSIONS

APAP could impair neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy efficacy in patients with NSCLC by promoting neutrophil activation and neutrophil extracellular trap formation.