Serum Vitamin D as a Predictor of Immunotherapy Response in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

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Çelik S., SÜTCÜOĞLU O., Karatlı S., Zeynelgil E., Başkurt K., İsak Ö. A., ...Daha Fazla

Acta Haematologica Oncologica Turcica, cilt.59, sa.2, ss.101-105, 2026 (Scopus)

Özet

Aim: Vitamin D is known to exert immunomodulatory effects and may influence the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between baseline serum vitamin D levels and survival outcomes in NSCLC patients treated with nivolumab. Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed patients with stage IV NSCLC who received nivolumab as second-line therapy at a single tertiary center between October 2022 and September 2024. Patients were stratified based on baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels into sufficient (≥20 ng/mL) and insufficient (<20 ng/mL) groups. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Results: A total of 39 patients were included in the final analysis. Of these, 16 (41.0%) had sufficient vitamin D levels, whereas 23 (59.0%) were classified as insufficient. Median PFS was longer in the sufficient group than in the insufficient group (10.1 vs. 4.6 months), although this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.292). Similarly, median OS favored the sufficient group (17.3 vs. 11.7 months), although this difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.823). Conclusion: Baseline vitamin D status may be associated with survival outcomes among patients with NSCLC receiving nivolumab. Although statistical significance was not achieved, the observed trends suggest a potential prognostic role of vitamin D. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.