scholarly journals Combination of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Radiotherapy for Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Prostate Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Zexi Xu ◽  
Jia Feng ◽  
Yiming Weng ◽  
Yao Jin ◽  
Min Peng

Objectives. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) combined with radiotherapy (RT) have emerged as a breakthrough therapy in the treatment of various cancers. The combination has a strong rationale, but data on their efficacy and safety are still limited. Hence, we comprehensively searched the database and performed this study to elucidate the clinical manifestations of this combined strategy. Methods. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized trials that compared ICI plus RT with placebo plus RT or ICI alone for the treatment of advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and prostate cancer. The outcomes included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), disease control rate (DCR), and treatment-related adverse events. A fixed-effects or random-effects model was adopted depending on between-study heterogeneity. Results. Three trials involving 1584 patients were included. ICI plus RT was significantly associated with improvement of OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.70–0.94, P = 0.004 ), PFS (HR = 0.64; 95% CI 0.56–0.72, P < 0.00001 ), and DCR (relative risk [RR] = 1.38; 95% CI 1.03–1.84, P = 0.03 ). A significant predictor for PFS with the combination of ICI and RT was age, as a significant improvement in PFS (HR = 0.49; 95% CI 0.37–0.64, P < 0.00001 ) was observed in NSCLC patients aged under 65 years. In safety analyses, patients receiving ICI plus RT had a significantly higher incidence of dyspnea (RR = 2.43; 95% CI 1.16–5.08, P = 0.02 ) and pneumonitis of grade 3 or higher (RR = 2.78; 95% CI 1.32–5.85, P = 0.007 ). Conclusion. The combination of ICI and RT was associated with improved OS, PFS, and DCR. Patients under 65 years will be the dominant beneficiaries. However, the incidence of dyspnea and pneumonia of grade 3 or higher also increased, which deserves our vigilance.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A253-A253
Author(s):  
Matthew Guo ◽  
Aanika Balaji ◽  
Joseph Murray ◽  
Joshua Reuss ◽  
Seema Mehta Steinke ◽  
...  

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are standard treatment for stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ICIs may cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs) often requiring corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive therapy and are associated with increased risk of opportunistic infections.1 2 The burden of infectious complications in NSCLC patients (pts) treated with ICIs is poorly described.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed NSCLC pts treated with ICIs between 2016–2020 at a large tertiary academic center. An infectious complication related to ICIs was defined as a pathogen-confirmed or clinically diagnosed infection requiring antimicrobials during or within 3 months of ICI discontinuation. High-grade infections were defined as those requiring IV antibiotics (grade 3), life-threatening or requiring ICU stay (grade 4), or resulting in death (grade 5). irAEs were defined by the treating provider and treated according to standard guidelines. Patient demographics, treatment data, cancer outcomes, infectious complications, and irAE details were annotated in an IRB-approved database. An AE treated as both an infection and/or irAE with antibiotics and immunosuppression was coded as a concomitant irAE/infection event. The association between patient features and infectious complications was examined using logistic regression. Treatment and disease characteristics for concomitant irAE with infection were also described.Results302 ICI-treated NSCLC pts were included. 211 pts received PD-1 monotherapy and 91 received PD-1 therapy with CTLA-4 therapy, chemotherapy, or other investigational therapy. The majority (175/302, 57.9%) had a documented infection (bacterial=138, viral=17, fungal=19, mycobacterial=1) during or within 3 months of ICI discontinuation. Grade ≥3 infections occurred in 33.4% of pts (101/302). Pulmonary infections were most common (35.4%), followed by gastrointestinal, urinary, and skin (<10%, each). A subset of pts were treated as having concomitant irAE/infection events (63/302, 20.9%). Among 63 pts who experienced irAEs, pneumonitis occurred most commonly (47/63, 74.6%) followed by colitis (7/63, 11.1%); other irAEs (hepatitis, myocarditis, thyroiditis) occurred in <3 patients each. A concomitant event was associated with a trend toward higher odds of hospitalization (OR 3.91, CI 0.5–30.76) when adjusted for grade ≥3 infection. Similarly, steroid use within one month prior to infection, was also associated with a trend toward higher odds of hospitalization (OR 8.88, CI 0.81–97.15), adjusted for grade ≥3 infection.ConclusionsIn this retrospective study of NSCLC pts treated with ICIs, the majority experienced infections during or within 3 months of ICI discontinuation. The most common infections were bacterial pulmonary in origin. Concomitant irAE/infection was associated with trend toward higher odds of hospitalization.ReferencesHamashima R, Uchino J, Morimoto Y, et al. Association of immune checkpoint inhibitors with respiratory infections: a review. Cancer Treatment Reviews 2020;90:102109. doi:10.1016/j.ctrv.2020.102109Lu M, Zhang L, Li Y, et al. Recommendation for the diagnosis and management of immune checkpoint inhibitor related infections. Thorac Cancer 2020;11(3):805–809. doi:10.1111/1759-7714.13313Ethics ApprovalThis retrospective chart review study has obtained ethics approval from the Institutional Review Board at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (number: IRB00129424).


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e001170
Author(s):  
Xinru Chen ◽  
Zhonghan Zhang ◽  
Xue Hou ◽  
Yaxiong Zhang ◽  
Ting Zhou ◽  
...  

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically revolutionized lung cancer treatment, providing unprecedented clinical benefits. However, immune-related pneumonitis (IRP) caused by ICIs has aroused widespread concern due to its high rate of discontinuation and mortality. This network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to compare the risks of IRP among different regimens for advanced lung cancer.MethodsPhase II and III randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were searched from electronic databases. The rates of grade 1–5 IRP and grade 3–5 IRP were systematically extracted. An NMA was conducted among chemotherapy, ICIs monotherapy, dual ICIs combination, and ICIs+chemotherapy. Subgroup analysis was also compared based on specific types of ICIs.ResultsTwenty-five RCTs involving 17,310 patients were eligible for inclusion. Compared with chemotherapy, ICI-based regimens were associated with an increased risk of grade 1–5 IRP and grade 3–5 IRP. Compared with ICIs+chemotherapy, ICIs monotherapy (grade 1–5: OR 2.14, 95% credible interval 1.12 to 4.80; grade 3–5: 3.03, 1.491 to 6.69) and dual ICIs combination (grade 1–5: 3.86, 1.69 to 9.89; grade 3–5: 5.12, 2.01 to 13.68) were associated with a higher risk of grade 1–5 IRP and grade 3–5 IRP. No significant difference was found between dual ICIs combination and ICIs monotherapy in grade 1–5 IRP (1.85, 0.91 to 3.37) or in grade 3–5 IRP (1.65, 0.81 to 3.37). Besides, compared with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors (2.56, 1.12 to 6.60), a lower risk of grade 1–5 IRP was observed in programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors.ConclusionCompared with chemotherapy, using ICIs is associated with an increased risk of IRP. ICIs+chemotherapy is associated with a lower risk of IRP compared with dual ICIs combination and ICIs monotherapy. PD-1 inhibitors are associated with a higher risk of 1–5 grade IRP compared with PD-L1 inhibitors.


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