Biomarkers for the response to immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Muller, M. (2024)

Doctoral Thesis

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the Netherlands. For years chemotherapy was the only (palliative) treatment, with a short survival of only months. Since the introduction of immunotherapy in 2015, this survival has increased significantly, with the first results showing a survival of even a few years. However, the response rate is relatively low, the treatment is expensive and the (low percentage of) side effects are severe. Therefore a biomarker is needed to predict which patients would benefit of immunotherapy.
This thesis is about the search for a new biomarker. With the use of the RNA of platelets, proteins, tumor markers in blood and a an electronic nose for exhaled breath, we tried to find a non-invasive biomarker for the prediction of response on immunotherapy and for the (future) use in clinical practice, some of which are promising.

• Immunotherapy
• Checkpoint inhibitor
• Biomarker
• Tumor marker
• Platelet RNA
• Exhaled breath
• Protein
• Modeling
• Response monitoring
• Response prediction

• All authors: Muller, M.
• Supervisor: Baas, P.; Heuvel, M.M. van den
• Co-supervisor: Rossum, H.H. van
• Committee: Neefjes, J.J.C.; Smit, E.F.; Borst, J.G.; Maitland- van der Zee, A.H.; Würdinger, T.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Faculty of Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden University
• Date: 2024-05-29
• ISBN (print): 9789493330863
• Sponsorship: Financial support for printing of this thesis was kindly provided by the Oncology Graduate School Amsterdam (OOA) and university of Leiden.