{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T20:08:26Z","timestamp":1792613306977,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,12]],"date-time":"2024-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733961600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cancers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment; however, predicting treatment response remains challenging. Serum biomarkers can help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy. Objective: This study evaluates the relationship between serum growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and treatment outcomes in cancer patients undergoing second-line immunotherapy. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study involving 85 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), or malignant melanoma treated with nivolumab. The baseline serum levels of GDF-15 and IL-6 were measured by using ELISA kits. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), with cachexia as a secondary outcome. Results: Elevated GDF-15 levels were significantly associated with shorter PFS (HR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.32\u20130.96, p = 0.032) and OS (HR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.25\u20130.90, p = 0.020). Higher IL-6 levels correlated with shorter PFS, though statistical significance was not achieved. Additionally, high GDF-15 levels were linked to increased cachexia incidence (p = 0.037). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that GDF-15 could serve as a prognostic biomarker for immunotherapy response and may also be a target for cachexia management. Further studies should explore its potential to guide clinical decision making in oncology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers16244146","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,12]],"date-time":"2024-12-12T04:52:49Z","timestamp":1733979169000},"page":"4146","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Impact of Serum GDF-15 and IL-6 on Immunotherapy Response in Cancer: A Prospective Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0212-1191","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Orhun","family":"Akdogan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sena","family":"Turkmen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biochemistry, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Galip Can","family":"Uyar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, 06170 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kadriye Bir","family":"Yucel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, 06170 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Busra","family":"Tufekci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fatih","family":"Gurler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ozan","family":"Yazici","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nuriye","family":"Ozdemir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmet","family":"Ozet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cengiz","family":"Karakaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biochemistry, Gazi University, 06560 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3835-2741","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Osman","family":"Sutcuoglu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, 06170 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1974","DOI":"10.1200\/JCO.2014.59.4358","article-title":"Immune checkpoint blockade in cancer therapy","volume":"33","author":"Postow","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. 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