Dynamic variations in peripheral blood indices and their association with efficacy and adverse reactions of pd- 1 inhibitor combined chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer

Higher pre-treatment levels of NLR, CAR, AFP, and CA199, along with subsequent reductions in NLR, CAR, and CA199 at 12 weeks post-treatment, were significantly associated with extended PFS and OS. Multivariate Cox analysis suggested that pre-treatment levels of AFP, as well as the reduction in NLR and CA199 at 12 weeks post-treatment, were strongly correlated with PFS and OS in patients with gastric cancer undergoing immunotherapy. Additionally, the reduction in NLR, CAR, and CA199 observed at 12 weeks after treatment showed a significant positive correlation with improved DCR and ORR. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the decline in NLR and CA199 levels at 12 weeks post-treatment might be associated with DCR, while pre-treatment CAR levels and the decrease in CAR after 12 weeks could potentially predict ORR in immunotherapy for gastric cancer. Notably, patients with normal AFP levels exhibited significantly prolonged median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 6.8 months and median overall survival (mOS) of 13.2 months compared to those with elevated AFP levels (mPFS: 5.2 months; mOS: 9.4 months), and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).