Baseline patient characteristics of cohort #1 for the overall population and according to CRP category
| Variable | Overall 308 N (%) | Low 101 N (%) | High 207 N (%) | P value |
| CRP (mg/dL) | ||||
| Median (range) | 21.2 (0.1–302.4) | 3.8 (0.1–10) | 36.0 (10.1–302.4) | – |
| Age | ||||
| Median (range) ≥65 years old <65 years old | 65 (35–87) 140 (45.5) 168 (54.5) | 65 (37–87) 49 (48.5) 52 (51.5) | 66 (35–86) 91 (44.0) 116 (56.0) | 0.4519 |
| Gender | ||||
| Female Male | 111 (36.0) 197 (64.0) | 43 (42.6) 58 (57.4) | 68 (32.9) 139 (67.1) | 0.0957 |
| Histology | ||||
| Non-squamous Squamous | 196 (63.6) 112 (36.4) | 72 (71.3) 29 (28.7) | 124 (59.9) 83 (40.1) | 0.0516 |
| Smoking at ICI Initiation | ||||
| Current/former smokers Never smokers Unknown | 190 (61.7) 13 (4.2) 105 (34.1) | 61 (60.4) 6 (5.9) 34 (33.7) | 129 (62.3) 7 (3.4) 71 (34.3) | 0.5764 |
| ECOG-PS | ||||
| 0 1 ≥2 Unknown | 67 (21.8) 162 (52.6) 72 (23.4) 7 (2.3) | 29 (28.7) 44 (43.6) 25 (24.8) 3 (3.0) | 38 (18.4) 118 (57.0) 47 (22.7) 4 (1.9) | 0.1059 |
| Cancer stage | ||||
| IIIb/IIIc IV | 68 (22.1) 240 (77.9) | 27 (26.7) 74 (73.3) | 41 (19.8) 166 (80.2) | 0.1696 |
| Liver metastasis at ICI initiation | ||||
| No Yes | 269 (87.3) 39 (12.7) | 89 (88.1) 12 (11.9) | 180 (87.0) 27 (13.0) | 0.7737 |
| Brain metastasis at ICI initiation | ||||
| No Yes | 243 (78.9) 65 (21.1) | 75 (74.3) 26 (25.7) | 169 (81.2) 39 (18.8) | 0.1641 |
| Bone metastasis at ICI initiation | ||||
| No Yes | 222 (72.1) 86 (27.9) | 77 (76.2) 24 (23.8) | 145 (70.0) 62 (30.0) | 0.2564 |
| PD-L1% | ||||
| 0 1–49 ≥50 Unknown | 47 (15.3) 45 (14.6) 77 (25.0) 139 (45.1) | 16 (15.8) 17 (16.8) 27 (26.7) 41 (40.6) | 31 (15.0) 28 (13.5) 50 (24.2) 98 (47.3) | 0.7040 |
| Treatment line | ||||
| First Non-first | 77 (25.0) 231 (75.0) | 26 (25.7) 75 (74.3) | 51 (24.6) 156 (75.4) | 0.8338 |
| Treatment regimen | ||||
| Chemo-ICI ICI alone | 48 (15.6) 260 (84.4) | 18 (17.8) 83 (82.2) | 30 (14.5) 177 (85.5) | 0.4503 |
| Treatment regimen | ||||
| Atezolizumab Nivolumab–ipilimumab Nivolumab Pembrolizumab Chemo-ICI | 22 (7.1) 2 (0.6) 184 (59.7) 52 (16.9) 48 (15.6) | – | – | – |
The number in brackets next to each variable is the valid total for each category.
Chemo-ICI, chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor; CRP, C-reactive protein; ECOG-PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status; ICI, immune checkpoint Inhibitor; PD-L1, programmed death-ligand 1.