COPD lung disease may actually boost immunotherapy responses in lung cancer patients.
NSCLC patients with COPD respond better to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. COPD-driven epithelial remodeling expands CXCL14+ basal-like tumor cells, which recruit CXCL9+ macrophages via CXCL14-CXCR4 signaling, amplifying cytotoxic T cell infiltration. This tumor-macrophage axis predicts pathological…
COPD lung disease may actually boost immunotherapy responses in lung cancer patients.
NSCLC patients with COPD respond better to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. COPD-driven epithelial remodeling expands CXCL14+ basal-like tumor cells, which recruit CXCL9+ macrophages via CXCL14-CXCR4 signaling, amplifying cytotoxic T cell infiltration. This tumor-macrophage axis predicts pathological response and is both a biomarker and potential target.
Key Findings
- NSCLC patients with COPD show superior anti-PD-1 responses
- COPD epithelial remodeling expands CXCL14+ tumor cells
- CXCL14-CXCR4 signaling recruits CXCL9+ macrophages
- Amplified cytotoxic T cell infiltration predicts pathological response
Implications
COPD status could become a positive predictive biomarker for NSCLC immunotherapy. Activating this axis in non-COPD patients may sensitize them to immunotherapy.
Caveats
Editorial commentary; abstract-only. Underlying study details not described. COPD carries health burdens that complicate overall prognosis.
Source: Med — 2026-04-10