Table 2.
Baseline Characteristics of patients overall.
| Variables | Training cohort | Validation cohort | p | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Low IL-6 | High IL-6 | p | Total | Low IL-6 | High IL-6 | p | ||
| Total | 81 | 40 | 41 | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0.105 | ||
| Gender | |||||||||
| Female | 24 (29.6) | 14 (35.0) | 10 (24.4) | 10 (25.0) | 7 (26.9) | 3 (21.4) | |||
| Male | 57 (70.4) | 26 (65.0) | 31 (75.6) | 0.296 | 30 (75.0) | 19 (73.1) | 11 (78.6) | 1.000 | 0.594 |
| Age | |||||||||
| ≥ 65 | 45 (55.6) | 16 (40.0) | 20 (48.8) | 22 (55.0) | 14 (53.8) | 8 (57.1) | |||
| < 65 | 36 (44.4) | 24 (60.0) | 21 (51.2) | 0.427 | 18 (45.0) | 12 (46.2) | 6 (42.9) | 0.842 | 0.954 |
| ECOG PS | |||||||||
| ≤ 2 | 73 (90.1) | 35 (87.5) | 38 (92.7) | 31 (77.5) | 18 (69.2) | 13 (92.9) | |||
| ≥ 3 | 8 (9.9) | 5 (12.5) | 3 (7.3) | 0.682 | 9 (22.5) | 8 (30.8) | 1 (7.1) | 0.190 | 0.060 |
| TNM | |||||||||
| III | 35 (43.2) | 21 (52.5) | 14 (34.1) | 18 (45.0) | 12 (46.2) | 6 (42.9) | |||
| IV | 46 (56.8) | 19 (47.5) | 27 (65.9) | 0.095 | 22 (55.0) | 14 (53.8) | 8 (57.1) | 0.842 | 0.852 |
| Surgery history | |||||||||
| No | 51 (63.0) | 26 (65.0) | 25 (61.0) | 29 (72.5) | 19 (73.1) | 10 (71.4) | |||
| Yes | 30 (37.0) | 14 (35.0) | 16 (39.0) | 0.708 | 11 (27.5) | 7 (26.9) | 4 (28.6) | 1.000 | 0.297 |
| Therapy | |||||||||
| ICIs monotherapy | 1 (1.2) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.4) | 1 (2.5) | 1 (3.8) | 0 (0.0) | |||
| ICIs & chemotherapy | 61 (75.3) | 30 (75.0) | 31 (75.6) | 30 (75.0) | 19 (73.1) | 11 (78.6) | |||
| ICIs & targeted | 8 (9.9) | 4 (10.0) | 4 (9.8) | 5 (12.5) | 3 (11.5) | 2 (14.3) | |||
| Triple therapy | 11 (13.6) | 6 (15.0) | 5 (12.2) | 0.778 | 4 (10.0) | 3 (11.5) | 1 (7.1) | 0.848 | 0.871 |
| Cancer Type | |||||||||
| ESSC | 30 (37.0) | 17 (42.5) | 13 (31.7) | 12 (30.0) | 7 (26.9) | 5 (35.7) | |||
| GAC | 51 (63.0) | 23 (57.5) | 28 (68.3) | 0.315 | 28 (70.0) | 19 (73.1) | 9 (64.3) | 0.828 | 0.444 |
| Treatment lines | |||||||||
| 1 - 2 | 71 (87.7) | 36 (90.0) | 35 (85.4) | 35 (87.5) | 24 (92.3) | 11 (78.6) | |||
| ≥ 3 | 10 (12.3) | 4 (10.0) | 6 (14.6) | 0.767 | 5 (12.5) | 2 (7.7) | 3 (21.4) | 0.452 | 0.981 |
| irAEs | |||||||||
| No | 39 (48.1) | 25 (62.5) | 14 (34.1) | 17 (42.5) | 14 (53.8) | 3 (21.4) | |||
| Yes | 42 (51.9) | 15 (37.5) | 27 (65.9) | 0.011* | 23 (57.5) | 12 (46.2) | 11 (78.6) | 0.048* | 0.558 |
ECOG PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status; ICIs, Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Triple therapy, immunotherapy combination chemotherapy with targeted therapy; ESSC, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; GAC, gastric adenocarcinoma; irAEs, immune-related adverse events. *p < 0.05.