Myeloid-Adaptive Response to Atezolizumab (MARTA): A Two-Gene CXCL13–CXCL8 Transcriptomic Biomarker Across Renal Cell and Urothelial Carcinoma
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Transcriptomic biomarkers associated with response to immune-checkpoint blockade remain incompletely defined, particularly across tumour types. We developed Myeloid–Adaptive Response to Atezolizumab (MARTA), a two-gene transcriptomic score integrating CXCL13 and CXCL8 expression. Candidate-gene selection was performed in 81 patients receiving atezolizumab monotherapy in IMmotion150, after which MARTA was evaluated across treatment groups and independently assessed in IMvigor210. In IMmotion150, a higher MARTA score was associated with higher objective response rate (ORR) with atezolizumab alone (odds ratio [OR], 3.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.42–7.19) and atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (OR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.43–4.76), but not with sunitinib. A higher MARTA score was also associated with longer progression-free survival (PFS) in both atezolizumab-containing groups (hazard ratio [HR], 0.60 and 0.65, respectively), with no association in the sunitinib group; the association differed across treatments for PFS (P=0.01). In IMvigor210, a higher MARTA score was associated with higher ORR (OR per 1-standard-deviation increase, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.05–1.81) and longer overall survival (OS) (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.67–0.86). The OS association remained after multivariate adjustment (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68–0.95). These findings support further evaluation of MARTA, but prospective validation and analytical reproducibility across platforms are required before clinical application.
DOI: 10.3390/cimb48101012
Author: Mario Uccello
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,654
OpenAlex ID: W7204077575