Nicholas Chaves Ortega
Research Mentor: Monika Leja
Mentor Department: Internal Medicine – Cardiology, Medicine
Author(s): Nicholas Chaves Ortega, Monika Leja, Anis Ismail, Valeria Pena Valentin
Session: Session 1 (9:00 AM – 9:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 118
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used cancer therapies that activate T cells to improve tumor control but can also cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including potential cardiovascular complications. This project investigates whether soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), a biomarker of systemic inflammation and immune activation, can help identify patients at higher risk after starting ICI therapy. The study is part of an ongoing prospective observational cohort of adult cancer patients at Michigan Medicine who were newly prescribed ICIs. Blood samples were collected at baseline and during follow-up, and suPAR levels were measured using ELISA alongside other inflammatory and cardiac biomarkers. Clinical outcomes, including severe irAEs and mortality, were obtained through electronic medical record review. The goal is to assess how suPAR levels change after ICI initiation and whether baseline or rising suPAR levels are associated with severe irAEs and mortality. Results from last year’s analysis suggest that patients had elevated baseline suPAR levels and that both baseline and 1-month suPAR measurements were independently associated with all-cause mortality, suggesting suPAR may help identify higher-risk patients.
