Researchers reported that peripheral immune dynamics can track response in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer treated with pembrolizumab-containing neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Increases in CX3CR1-positive CD8-positive T cells during treatment were associated with pathological response. In parallel, a separate meta-analysis linked higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio with worse survival outcomes in gastric cancer patients receiving PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors, reinforcing the role of inflammation-linked biomarkers in checkpoint-response stratification. These findings support a growing clinical focus on measurable immune and host factors—potentially enabling earlier identification of responders and improved patient selection across immunotherapy regimens.