Integrating peripheral biomarker analyses from JAVELIN Renal 101: Avelumab + axitinib (A + Ax) versus sunitinib (S) in advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC)

4547 Background: In the phase 3 JAVELIN Renal 101 trial (NCT02684006), treatment-naive patients (pts) with aRCC demonstrated prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) and a higher objective response rate with A + Ax vs S. We report the association of blood-based biomarkers with differential responses to treatment. Methods: Biomarkers in pretreatment (pre-tx) and on-treatment (on-tx) blood samples from 886 enrolled pts were correlated with clinical outcomes and molecular profiling data from corresponding tumor samples. Analyses include blood counts of unique populations, T-cell receptor sequencing, circulating cytokines, and serum proteomics by mass spectrometry MALDI-TOF. Results: At baseline, higher pre-tx monocyte counts were associated with shorter PFS in the A + Ax arm (Table). In the S arm, higher pre-tx levels of multiple T-cell–related metrics, including the percent of productively rearranged peripheral T cells, were associated with longer PFS but had no association in the A + Ax arm (Table). Higher pre-tx neutrophil counts were associated with shorter PFS in both arms, but neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was only associated with PFS for the S arm (Table). On-therapy biomarkers showed differential post-tx changes in T-cell numbers and clones at C2D1. Tx-specific differences were also seen in non–T-cell populations such as monocytes and neutrophils at multiple time points through C3D1. Serum levels of pre- and on-tx VEGF, CRP, and several interleukins showed differential associations with PFS (eg, higher pre-tx VEGF was associated with shorter PFS in only the S arm) (Table). Specific genomic alterations in tumor tissues were associated with differences in several pre- and on-tx angiokines & cytokines. Conclusions: Response to treatment with first-line A + Ax or S was associated with immune fitness and tx-specific immunomodulation. We identified peripheral biomarkers in pts with aRCC associated with the presence of impactful genomic alterations and differential clinical outcomes. Clinical trial information: NCT02684006. [Table: see text]