Influence of Previous Therapy for Neutropenia Caused by Combination Therapy of Ramucirumab and Docetaxel

In the present study, the influence of previous immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy with ramucirumab (RAM) + docetaxel (DTX) therapy on the occurrence of severe neutropenia in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was evaluated, taking into account the influences of cytotoxic chemotherapy used in pretreatment. The study participants included patients who received a combination therapy of RAM and DTX as cancer chemotherapy for NSCLC. The influences of previous ICI treatment and pretreatment with cytotoxic anticancer agents on the development of grade ≥ 3 neutropenia were analysed. A total of 89 patients, including 50 with and 39 without a history of ICI treatment, were analysed. Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significant difference in the influence of previous ICI treatment on the development of grade ≥ 3 neutropenia (p = 0.006). Moreover, Cox regression analysis identified a history of ICI treatment and prophylactic administration of G-CSF as factors associated with the development of grade ≥ 3 neutropenia (p = 0.018 and p < 0.001, respectively). This study found that previous treatment with ICIs reduced the incidence of grade ≥ 3 neutropenia after RAM + DTX therapy in patients with NSCLC, regardless of the influences of pretreatment with cytotoxic anticancer agents.