Immune Profile Score Algorithmic Test Is Now Available to Help Inform Checkpoint Inhibitor Use in Cancer

The Immune Profile Score (IPS) algorithmic test, which is a multimodal biomarker that can be used as a prognostic indicator for adult patients with stage IV and metastatic solid tumors who are already considered candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitor–based therapy, is now available for clinical use.

Findings from a validation study being presented at the 2024 SITC Annual Meeting showed that patients with IPS-high scores in the study experienced an overall survival benefit when treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor–based therapy compared with patients who had IPS-low scores (HR, 0.45).

"This is Tempus’ first time leveraging a multimodal algorithm in the immunotherapy space, and we look forward to providing clinicians the ability to use our IPS test to garner data-driven insights that can inform important treatment decisions," Ezra Cohen, MD, chief medical officer of Oncology at Tempus, stated in a news release. "We are excited to introduce this innovative test to clinicians, empowering them with the ability to make more informed choices for their patients while simultaneously moving the field forward in meaningful ways."

The IPS model was developed via a machine-learning framework featuring tumor mutational burden along with 8 RNA-based biomarkers.² By factoring in a combination of immunotherapy-related biomarkers derived from DNA and RNA test results, IPS score is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, which determines classification as IPS-high or IPS-low.¹

The retrospective study used to validate the test included 1600 adult patients with 19 different metastatic and/or stage IV solid tumor types from a real-world, de-identified database compiled by Tempus. The study included patients treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor–based regimen in the first- or second-line setting.²

During the study, Cox models were utilized to evaluate the prognostic utility of the IPS test, including a Cox model for recurrent events.

Additional findings showed that IPS had prognostic utility independent of tumor mutational burden, PD-L1 immunohistochemistry, and microsatellite instability status in the study cohort.¹ Additionally, an IPS-high score was prognostic for patients treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor alone or as part of a combination.²

An exploratory analysis showed that although there was not a statistically significant difference in time to next therapy after frontline therapy based on IPS score in patients who received chemotherapy in the first line and an immune checkpoint inhibitor in the second line, there was a statistically significant difference in OS based on IPS score after starting second-line treatment.

“This study demonstrates that IPS scoring is beneficial in that it can identify patients, independent of standard biomarkers, who may have better OS with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy,” Sandip Patel, MD, a medical oncologist and professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine at University of California, San Diego Health, added in a news release.¹ “IPS scoring can inform tumor-intrinsic sensitivity to immune checkpoint blockade beyond PD-L1 immunohistochemistry and tumor mutational burden, and help manage patients on immunotherapy utilizing data already collected as part of DNA and RNA sequencing.”

The IPS test is available as an add-on option for the DNA-based xT and RNA-based xR assays.

References

1. Tempus announces the clinical launch of its Immune Profile Score algorithmic test. News release. Tempus AI. November 7, 2024. Accessed November 7, 2024. https://www.tempus.com/news/pr/tempus-announces-the-clinical-launch-of-its-immune-profile-score-algorithmic-test/
2. Zander AD, Erbe R, Liu Y, et al. Clinical validation of a novel multi-omic algorithm for stratifying outcomes in a real-world cohort of metastatic solid cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. J Immunother Cancer. Published online November 05, 2024. doi:10.1136/jitc-2024-SITC2024.0188