Soluble MAdCAM-1 as a biomarker in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors or antiangiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitors may develop resistance driven by gut dysbiosis, which disrupts the MAdCAM-1-α4β7 axis and promotes the recruitment of immunosuppressive IL-17-producing T regulatory (Tr17) cells into tumors. We evaluated soluble MAdCAM-1 (sMAdCAM-1) as a prognostic biomarker in 1,051 patients from three cohorts: JAVELIN Renal 101 (avelumab plus axitinib versus sunitinib), SURF (sunitinib) and NIVOREN (nivolumab after tyrosine kinase inhibitors). In the JAVELIN cohort, baseline sMAdCAM-1 levels >180 ng ml-1 were associated with significantly improved progression-free survival (13.9 versus 8.4 months, P < 0.01) and overall survival (18 months: 84.2% versus 68.1%, P < 0.01), independent of IMDC risk groups. We validated the prognostic value of sMAdCAM-1 for overall survival in the SURF and NIVOREN cohorts. Notably, low sMAdCAM-1 levels were associated with an immunosuppressive gut microbiota profile dominated by Enterocloster species. Therefore, sMAdCAM-1 deserves further investigations as a biomarker-guided tool for microbiota-targeted interventions.

publication date

  • January 7, 2026

Identity

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1038/s41591-025-04067-x

PubMed ID

  • 41501493