Baseline Values of Circulating IL-6 and TGF-β Might Identify Patients with HNSCC Who Do Not Benefit from Nivolumab Treatment

Background: The immunotherapy of head and neck cancer induces a limited rate of long-term survivors at the cost of treating many patients exposed to toxicity without benefit, regardless of PD-L1 expression. The identification of better biomarkers is warranted. We analyzed a panel of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors, hereinafter all referred to as ‘cytokines’, as potential biomarkers in patients with head and neck cancer treated with nivolumab. Materials and methods: A total of 18 circulating cytokines were analyzed. Samples were gathered at baseline (T0) and after 3 courses of nivolumab (T1) in patients with relapsed/metastatic disease. The data extracted at T0 were linked to survival; the comparison of T0–T1 explored the effect of immunotherapy. Results: A total of 22 patients were accrued: 64% current heavy smokers, 36% female and 14% had PS = 2. At T0, ROC analysis showed that IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TGF-β were higher in patients with poor survival. Cox analysis demonstrated that only patients with the IL-6 and TGF-β discriminate had good or poor survival, respectively. Longitudinal increments of CCL-4, IL-15, IL-2 and CXCL-10 were observed in all patients during nivolumab treatment. Conclusion: In this small population with poor clinical characteristics, this study highlights the prognostic role of IL-6 and TGF-β. Nivolumab treatment is associated with a positive modulation of some Th1 cytokines, but it does not correlate with the outcome.