SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol., 25 May 2022

Sec. Drugs Outcomes Research and Policies

Volume 13 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.883655

Comprehensive Evaluation of Anti-PD-1, Anti-PD-L1, Anti-CTLA-4 and Their Combined Immunotherapy in Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

  • 1. Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

  • 2. Center for Global Health, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

  • 3. Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

  • 4. Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Combining Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zhejiang Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, China

  • 5. Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Central Blood Station of Yancheng City, Yancheng, China

  • 6. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Suzhou Vocational Health College, Suzhou, China

  • 7. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Gusu School, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, China

  • 8. Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

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Abstract

Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) drugs is gradually becoming a hot topic in cancer treatment. To comprehensively evaluate the safety and efficacy of ICI drugs, we employed the Bayesian model and conducted a network meta-analysis in terms of progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and severe adverse events (AEs). Our study found that treatment with ipilimumab was significantly worse than standard therapies in terms of PFS, whereas treatment with cemiplimab significantly improved PFS. The results also indicated that cemiplimab was the best choice for PFS. Treatment with nivolumab, pembrolizumab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab significantly improved OS compared to standard therapies. In terms of OS, cemiplimab was found to be the best choice, whereas avelumab was the worst. In terms of severe AEs, atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab, nivolumab, and pembrolizumab all significantly reduced the risk of grade 3 or higher AEs compared to standard therapy. The least likely to be associated with severe AEs were as follows: cemiplimab, avelumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, and camrelizumab, with nivolumab plus ipilimumab to be the worst. Therefore, different ICI drug therapies may pose different risks in terms of PFS, OS and severe AEs. Our study may provide new insights and strategies for the clinical practice of ICI drugs.

1 Introduction

Immunotherapy has become one of the most important breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer in recent years, and its development has promoted changes in many cancer treatment methods. As a series of co-inhibitory and co-stimulatory receptors and ligands, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) drugs can block negative regulatory factors expressed by immune or tumor cells to enhance their immune function against cancer cells, mainly programmed death-1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) (Rosenberg et al., 2004). In 2011, the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of advanced melanoma (Hodi et al., 2010). Subsequently, several ICI drugs were also approved for the treatment of cancer (Topalian et al., 2012; Gong et al., 2018). Since then, interest for immunotherapy with ICI drugs has been increasing. Many studies focused on the prognosis and treatment for different cancers (Wu et al., 2015).

Chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for advanced cancer, and patients undergoing chemotherapy often experience severe adverse events (AEs). Although ICI drugs have achieved good anticancer effects in the treatment of many solid tumors, they may still cause severe treatment-related or drug-related AEs. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) are usually efficacy end-points. In terms of PFS and OS, the therapeutic effects of ICI drugs remain unclear compared with standard therapies. Due to the limitations of randomized clinical trials, the overall safety evaluation of different ICI drugs for cancer treatment is not comprehensive, especially in terms of PFS and OS.

We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis of the therapeutic effects of ICI drugs targeting PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4, focusing on PFS, OS and treatment-related severe AEs in patients receiving ICI drug monotherapy, combination therapies and standard therapies (chemotherapy, targeted therapies and their combination therapies included). This study comprehensively evaluated the safety and efficacy of different ICI drugs and their combination therapies, aiming to provide better guidance for the clinical application of various ICI drugs.

2 Methods

2.1 Search Methods and Study Selection

We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library for English-language studies between January 2000 and September 2021, using keywords such as ipilimumab, tremelimumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab, cemiplimab, camrelizumab, toripalimab, tislelizumab, spartalizumab, atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab, PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4. The search strategy was described in Supplementary Table S1. The study search, selection and data extraction were independently conducted by two reviewers (ZX and ZZ), and discrepancies were evaluated by an independent reviewer (JL). The three authors (ZX, JL and ZZ) reviewed and discussed the full text of studies that may be eligible, and differences of opinions were resolved by consensus.

Only high-quality head-to-head phase 2 and 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing two or more treatments including ICI drug monotherapy, ICI drug combination therapies and standard therapies were included. Some RCTs only presented interim results, as insufficient information may affect the final analysis, we selected the most recent results as much as possible. Data provided include at least one of the following: hazard ratios (HRs) of PFS, OS and treatment-related severe AEs. We excluded reviews, conference abstracts and posters. The study was performed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline (Hutton et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2021). This study was approved by International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) (registered ID: CRD42021278158).

2.2 Data Extraction

The authors (ZX and ZZ) independently extracted data according to the PRISMA guidelines. The first author, year of publication, national clinical trial identification number, trial name, phase, number of patients, type of cancer, drug used, follow-up time, number of severe AEs, HRs, and confidence interval (CI) of PFS and OS were summarized in standardized Tables 1–3.

TABLE 1

First authorYearNCTTrial nameTotal numberPhaseCanner typeTreatment 1Patient numberTreatment 2Patient numberFollow-up timePFS HRPFS CI lower limitPFS CI upper limit
Fehrenbacher L et al. (Fehrenbacher et al., 2018)2018NCT02008227OAK12253Non small cell lung cancerAtezolizumab613Docetaxel612210.960.851.08
McDermott DF et al. (McDermott et al., 2018)2018NCT01984242IMmotion1502042Renal cell carcinomaAtezolizumab103Sunitinib10120.71.190.821.71
Powles T et al. (Powles et al., 2018)2018NCT02302807IMvigor2112343Urothelial carcinomaAtezolizumab116Chemotherapy11817.31.010.751.34
Eng C et al. (Eng et al., 2019)2019NCT02788279IMblaze3701803Colorectal cancerAtezolizumab90Regorafenib907.31.391.001.94
Pujol JL et al. (Pujol et al., 2019)2019NCT03059667IFCT-1603732Small Cell Lung CancerAtezolizumab49Chemotherapy2413.72.261.33.93
Herbst RS et al. (Herbst et al., 2020)2020NCT02409342IMpower1105543Non small cell lung cancerAtezolizumab277Chemotherapy27713.40.770.630.94
Bang YJ et al. (Bang et al., 2018)2018NCT02625623JAVELIN Gastric 3003713Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancerAvelumab185Chemotherapy18610.61.731.42.2
Barlesi F et al. (Barlesi et al., 2018)2018NCT02395172JAVELIN Lung 2005293Non small cell lung cancerAvelumab264Docetaxel265T1:18.91.010.801.28
T2:17.8
Pujade-Lauraine E et al. (Pujade-Lauraine et al., 2021)2021NCT02580058JAVELIN Ovarian 2003783Ovarian cancerAvelumab188Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin190T1:18.21.681.322.60
T2:17.4
Huang J et al. (Huang et al., 2020)2020NCT03099382ESCORT4483Squamous cell carcinomaCamrelizumab228Chemotherapy2208.30.690.560.86
Sezer A et al. (Sezer et al., 2021)2021NCT03088540EMPOWER-Lung 15633Non small cell lung cancerCemiplimab283Chemotherapy280T1:10.80.540.430.68
T2:10.9
Siu LL et al. (Siu et al., 2019)2019NCT02319044CONDOR2672Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab+133Durvalumab67T1:6.51.130.821.56
TremelimumabT2:6.0
2Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab+133Tremelimumab67T1:6.50.730.531.01
TremelimumabT2:5.2
Ferris RL et al. (Ferris et al., 2020)2020NCT02369874EAGLE7363Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab240Standard of care249T1:7.61.020.841.25
T2:7.8
3Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab+247Standard of care249T1:6.31.090.901.33
TremelimumabT2:7.8
Planchard D et al. (Planchard et al., 2020)2020NCT02352948ARCTIC5953Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab62Standard of care649.10.710.491.04
3Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab+174Standard of care1189.10.770.591.01
Tremelimumab
3Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab117Standard of care1189.10.870.651.16
3Non small cell lung cancerTremelimumab60Standard of care1189.11.250.881.77
Rizvi NA et al. (Rizvi et al., 2020)2020NCT02453282MYSTIC4883Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab163Chemotherapy16210.60.870.591.29
3Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab+163Chemotherapy16210.61.050.721.53
Tremelimumab
Bachelot T et al. (Bachelot et al., 2021)2021NCT02299999SAFIR02-BREAST IMMUNO1992Breast cancerDurvalumab68Chemotherapy13119.71.401.001.96
Bang YJ et al. (Bang et al., 2017)2017NCT01585987NA1082Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancerIpilimumab57Best supportive care51241.441.091.91
Borghaei H et al. (Borghaei et al., 2015)2015NCT01673867CheckMate 0575823Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab292Docetaxel29013.20.920.771.11
Brahmer J et al. (Brahmer et al., 2015)2015NCT01642004CheckMate 0172723Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab135Docetaxel137110.620.470.81
Motzer RJ et al. (Motzer et al., 2015)2015NCT01668784CheckMate 0258213Renal cell carcinomaNivolumab410Everolimus411140.880.751.03
Ferris RL et al. (Ferris et al., 2016)2016NCT02105636CheckMate 1413613Squamous cell carcinomaNivolumab240Standard therapy1215.10.890.701.13
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2016)2016NCT01927419CheckMate 0691422MelanomaNivolumab+95Ipilimumab4724.50·360.220.56
Ipilimumab
Carbone DP et al. (Carbone et al., 2017)2017NCT02041533CheckMate 0265413Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab271Chemotherapy27013.51.190.971.46
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2018)2018NCT01844505CheckMate 0679453MelanomaNivolumab+314Ipilimumab315T1:46.90.420.350.51
IpilimumabT2:18.6
3MelanomaNivolumab316Ipilimumab315T1:18.60.530.440.64
T2:36
Larkin J et al. (Larkin et al., 2018)2018NCT01721746CheckMate 0374053MelanomaNivolumab272Chemotherapy133241.000.781.44
Hellmann MD et al. (Hellmann et al., 2019)2019NCT02477826CheckMate 2272993Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab+139Chemotherapy16011.20.580.410.81
Ipilimumab
Kato K et al. (Kato et al., 2019)2019NCT02569242ATTRACTION-34193Squamous cell carcinomaNivolumab210Chemotherapy20917.61.080.871.34
Wu YL et al. (Wu et al., 2019)2019NCT02613507CheckMate 0785043Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab338Docetaxel1668.80.770.620.95
Motzer RJ et al. (Motzer et al., 2020)2020NCT02231749CheckMate 21410963Renal cell carcinomaNivolumab+550Sunitinib546420.880.751.04
Ipilimumab
Reardon DA et al. (Reardon et al., 2020)2020NCT02017717CheckMate 1433693GlioblastomaNivolumab184Bevacizumab1859.51.971.572.48
Robert C et al. (Robert et al., 2020)2020NCT01721772CheckMate 0664183MelanomaNivolumab210Dacarbazine208600.400.330.54
Zamarin D et al. (Zamarin et al., 2020)2020NCT02498600NRG GY0031002Ovarian CancerNivolumab+51Nivolumab49NA0.530.340.82
Ipilimumab
Baas P et al. (Baas et al., 2021)2021NCT02899299CheckMate 7436053Malignant pleural mesotheliomaNivolumab+303Chemotherapy30229.71.000.821.21
Ipilimumab
Spigel DR et al. (Spigel et al., 2021)2021NCT02481830CheckMate 3315693Small cell lung cancerNivolumab284Chemotherapy28515.81.411.181.69
Tannir NM et al. (Tannir et al., 2021)2021NACheckMate 2141393Renal cell carcinomaNivolumab+74Sunitinib65420.540.330.86
Ipilimumab
Herbst RS et al. (Herbst et al., 2016)2016NCT01905657KEYNOTE-0106872/3Non small cell lung cancerPembrolizumab344Docetaxel34313.10.880.741.05
Hamid O et al. (Hamid et al., 2017)2017NCT01704287KEYNOTE-0023592MelanomaPembrolizumab180Chemotherapy179280.580.460.73
Shitara K et al. (Shitara et al., 2018)2018NCT02370498KEYNOTE-0613953Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancerPembrolizumab196Paclitaxel1998.51.271.031.57
Cohen EEW et al. (Cohen et al., 2019)2019NCT02252042KEYNOTE-0404953Ssquamous cell carcinomaPembrolizumab247Standard of care248T1:7.50.960.791.16
T2:7.1
Fradet Y et al. (Fradet et al., 2019)2019NCT02256436KEYNOTE-0455423Urothelial cancerPembrolizumab270Chemotherapy27227.70.960.791.16
Mok TSK et al. (Mok et al., 2019)2019NCT02220894KEYNOTE-04212743Non small cell lung cancerPembrolizumab637Chemotherapy63712.81.070.941.21
Reck M et al. (Reck et al., 2019)2019NCT02142738KEYNOTE-0243053Non small cell lung cancerPembrolizumab154Chemotherapy15111.20.500.370.68
Robert C et al. (Robert et al., 2019)2019NCT01866319KEYNOTE-0068343MelanomaPembrolizumab556Ipilimumab27857.70.570.480.67
André T et al. (André et al., 2020)2020NCT02563002KEYNOTE-1773073Colorectal cancerPembrolizumab153Chemotherapy15432.40.600.450.80
Kojima T et al. (Kojima et al., 2020)2020NCT02564263KEYNOTE-1816283Esophageal CancerPembrolizumab314Chemotherapy314T1:7.11.110.941.31
T2:6.9
Popat S et al. (Popat et al., 2020)2020NCT02991482ETOP 9-151443Malignant pleural mesotheliomaPembrolizumab73Chemotherapy7117.51.060.731.53
Shitara K et al. (Shitara et al., 2020)2020NCT02494583KEYNOTE-0625063Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancerPembrolizumab256Chemotherapy25029.41.661.372.01
Kuruvilla J et al. (Kuruvilla et al., 2021)2021NCT02684292KEYNOTE-2043043Hodgkin lymphomaPembrolizumab151Brentuximab vedotin153240.650.480.88

List of the studies involving PFS in this meta-analysis.

PFS = Progression-free survival. HR = Hazard ratio. CI = Confidence interval.

TABLE 2

First authorYearNCTTrial nameTotal numberPhaseCanner typeTreatment 1Patient numberTreatment 2Patient numberFollow-up timeOS HROS CI lower limitOS CI upper limit
Fehrenbacher L et al. (Fehrenbacher et al., 2016)2016NCT01903993POPLAR2872Non small cell lung cancerAtezolizumab144Docetaxel143130.730.530.99
Fehrenbacher L et al. (Fehrenbacher et al., 2018)2018NCT02008227OAK12253Non small cell lung cancerAtezolizumab613Docetaxel612260.800.700.92
Powles T et al. (Powles et al., 2018)2017NCT02302807IMvigor2112343Urothelial carcinomaAtezolizumab116Chemotherapy11817.30.870.631.21
Eng C et al. (Eng et al., 2019)2019NCT02788279IMblaze3701803Colorectal cancerAtezolizumab90Regorafenib907.31.190.831.71
Pujol JL et al. (Pujol et al., 2019)2018NCT03059667IFCT-1603732Small cell lung cancerAtezolizumab49Chemotherapy2413.70.840.451.58
Herbst RS et al. (Herbst et al., 2020)2020NCT02409342IMpower1105543Non small cell lung cancerAtezolizumab277Chemotherapy27713.40.830.651.07
Bang YJ er al (Bang et al., 2018)2018NCT02625623JAVELIN Gastric 3003713Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancerAvelumab185Chemotherapy18610.61.10.91.4
Park K et al. (Park et al., 2021)2021NCT02395172JAVELIN Lung 2005293Non small cell lung cancerAvelumab264Docetaxel265240.870.711.05
Pujade-Lauraine E et al. (Pujade-Lauraine et al., 2021)2021NCT02580058JAVELIN Ovarian 2003783Ovarian cancerAvelumab188Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin190T1:18.21.140.951.58
T2:17.4
Huang J et al. (Huang et al., 2020)2020NCT03099382ESCORT4483Squamous cell carcinomaCamrelizumab228Chemotherapy2208.30.710.570.87
Sezer A et al. (Sezer et al., 2021)2021NCT03088540EMPOWER-Lung 15633Non small cell lung cancerCemiplimab283Chemotherapy280T1:10.80.570.420.77
T2:10.9
Siu LL et al. (Siu et al., 2019)2019NCT02319044CONDOR2672Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab+133Durvalumab67T1:6.50.990.691.43
TremelimumabT2:6.0
2Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab+133Tremelimumab67T1:6.50.720.511.03
TremelimumabT2:5.2
Ferris RL et al. (Ferris et al., 2020)2020NCT02369874EAGLE7363Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab240Standard of care249T1:7.6 T2:7.80.880.721.08
3Squamous cell carcinomaDurvalumab+247Standard of care249T1:6.31.040.851.26
TremelimumabT2:7.8
Planchard D et al. (Planchard et al., 2020)2020NCT02352948ARCTIC5953Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab62Standard of care649.10.630.420.93
3Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab+ Tremelimumab174Standard of care1189.10.800.611.05
3Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab117Standard of care1189.10.800.591.08
3Non small cell lung cancerTremelimumab60Standard of care1189.11.020.711.46
Powles T et al. (Powles et al., 2020)2020NCT02516241DANUBE10323Urothelial carcinomaDurvalumab346Chemotherapy34441.20.990.831.17
3Urothelial carcinomaDurvalumab+342Chemotherapy34441.20.850.721.02
Tremelimumab
Rizvi NA et al. (Rizvi et al., 2020)2020NCT02453282MYSTIC4883Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab163Chemotherapy16230.20.760.561.02
3Non small cell lung cancerDurvalumab+163Chemotherapy16230.20.850.611.17
Tremelimumab
Bachelot T et al. (Bachelot et al., 2021)2021NCT02299999SAFIR02-BREAST IMMUNO1992Breast cancerDurvalumab68Chemotherapy13119.70.840.541.29
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2010)2010NCT00094653MDX010-202733MelanomaIpilimumab137Gp100136T1:27.8 T2:17.20.660.510.87
Tarhini AA et al. (Tarhini et al., 2020)2020NAE160911593MelanomaIpilimumab523Interferon Alfa-2b63657.40.780.610.99
Borghaei H et al. (Borghaei et al., 2015)2015NCT01673867CheckMate 0575823Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab292Docetaxel29013.20.730.590.89
Brahmer J et al. (Brahmer et al., 2015)2015NCT01642004CheckMate 0172723Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab135Docetaxel137110.590.440.79
Motzer RJ et al. (Motzer et al., 2015)2015NCT01668784CheckMate 0258213Renal cell carcinomaNivolumab410Everolimus411140.730.570.93
Ferris RL et al. (Ferris et al., 2016)2016NCT02105636CheckMate 1413613Squamous cell carcinomaNivolumab240Standard therapy1215.10.700.510.96
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2016)2016NCT01927419CheckMate 0691422MelanomaNivolumab+95Ipilimumab4724.50.740.431.26
Ipilimumab
Carbone DP et al. (Carbone et al., 2017)2017NCT02041533CheckMate 0265413Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab271Chemotherapy27013.51.080.871.34
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2018)2018NCT01844505CheckMate 0679453MelanomaNivolumab+ Ipilimumab314Ipilimumab315T1:46.9 T2:18.60.540.440.67
3MelanomaNivolumab316Ipilimumab315T1: 36 T2:18.60.650.530.79
Larkin J et al. (Larkin et al., 2018)2018NCT01721746CheckMate 0374053MelanomaNivolumab272Chemotherapy133240.950.731.24
Hellmann MD et al. (Hellmann et al., 2019)2019NCT02477826CheckMate 22711663Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab+ Ipilimumab583Chemotherapy58329.30.730.640.84
Kato K et al. (Kato et al., 2019)2019NCT02569242ATTRACTION-34193Squamous cell carcinomaNivolumab210Chemotherapy20917.60.770.620.96
Wu YL et al. (Wu et al., 2019)2019NCT02613507CheckMate 0785043Non small cell lung cancerNivolumab338Docetaxel1668.80.680.520.90
Motzer RJ et al. (Motzer et al., 2020)2020NCT02231749CheckMate 21410963Renal cell carcinomaNivolumab+550Sunitinib546420.720.610.86
Ipilimumab
Reardon DA et al. (Reardon et al., 2020)2020NCT02017717CheckMate 1433693GlioblastomaNivolumab184Bevacizumab1859.51.040.831.3
Robert C et al. (Robert et al., 2020)2020NCT01721772CheckMate 0664183MelanomaNivolumab210Dacarbazine208600.500.400.63
Zamarin D et al. (Zamarin et al., 2020)2020NCT02498600NRG GY0031002Ovarian cancerNivolumab+51Nivolumab49NA0.790.441.42
Ipilimumab
Baas P et al. (Baas et al., 2021)2021NCT02899299CheckMate 7436053Malignant pleural mesotheliomaNivolumab+303Chemotherapy30229.70.740.600.91
Ipilimumab
Spigel DR et al. (Spigel et al., 2021)2021NCT02481830CheckMate 3315693Small cell lung cancerNivolumab284Chemotherapy28515.80.860.721.04
Tannir NM et al. (Tannir et al., 2021)2021NACheckMate 2141393Renal cell carcinomaNivolumab+74Sunitinib65420.450.300.70
Ipilimumab
Ribas A et al. (Ribas et al., 2013)2013NCT00257205NA6553MelanomaTremelimumab328Chemotherapy327NA0.88NANA
Herbst RS et al. (Herbst et al., 2016)2016NCT01905657KEYNOTE-0106872/3Non small cell lung cancerPembrolizumab344Docetaxel34313.10.710.580.88
Hamid O et al. (Hamid et al., 2017)2017NCT01704287KEYNOTE-0023592MelanomaPembrolizumab180Chemotherapy179280.860.671.10
Shitara K et al. (Shitara et al., 2018)2018NCT02370498KEYNOTE-0613953Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancerPembrolizumab196Paclitaxel1998.50.820.661.03
Cohen EEW et al. (Cohen et al., 2019)2019NCT02252042KEYNOTE-0404953Squamous cell carcinomaPembrolizumab247Standard of care2487.50.800.650.98
Fradet Y et al. (Fradet et al., 2019)2019NCT02256436KEYNOTE-0455423Urothelial cancerPembrolizumab270Chemotherapy27227.70.700.570.85
Mok TSK et al. (Mok et al., 2019)2019NCT02220894KEYNOTE-04212743Non small cell lung cancerPembrolizumab637Chemotherapy63712.80.810.710.93
Reck M et al. (Reck et al., 2019)2019NCT02142738KEYNOTE-0243053Non small cell lung cancerPembrolizumab154Chemotherapy15125.20.630.470.86
Robert C et al. (Robert et al., 2019)2019NCT01866319KEYNOTE-0068343MelanomaPembrolizumab556Ipilimumab27857.70.730.610.88
Kojima T et al. (Kojima et al., 2020)2020NCT02564263KEYNOTE-1816283Esophageal cancerPembrolizumab314Chemotherapy3147.10.890.751.05
Popat S et al. (Popat et al., 2020)2020NCT02991482ETOP 9-151443Malignant pleural mesotheliomaPembrolizumab73Chemotherapy7117.51.040.661.67
Shitara K et al. (Shitara et al., 2020)2020NCT02494583KEYNOTE-0625063Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancerPembrolizumab256Chemotherapy25029.40.910.691.18
Powles T et al. (Powles et al., 2021)2021NCT02853305KEYNOTE-3616593Urothelial carcinomaPembrolizumab307Chemotherapy35231.70.920.771.11
Winer EP et al. (Winer et al., 2021)2021NCT02555657KEYNOTE-1196223Breast cancerPembrolizumab312Chemotherapy31031.40.970.821.15

List of the studies involving OS in this meta-analysis.

OS = Overall survival. HR = Hazard ratio. CI = Confidence interval.

TABLE 3

First authorYearNCT numberTrail nameTotal numberCancer typeTrial phaseTreatmentPatient numberTotal number surveyedGrade 3 or higher AEs
Fehrenbacher L et al. (Fehrenbacher et al., 2016)2016NCT01903993POPLAR287Non small cell lung cancer2Atezolizumab14414217
2Standard14313555
Fehrenbacher L et al. (Fehrenbacher et al., 2018)2018NCT02008227OAK1225Non small cell lung cancer3Atezolizumab61360991
3Standard612578246
McDermott DF et al. (McDermott et al., 2018)2018NCT01984242IMmotion150204Renal cell carcinoma2Atezolizumab10310317
2Standard10110057
Powles T et al. (Powles et al., 2018)2018NCT02302807IMvigor211234Urothelial carcinoma3Atezolizumab11611411
3Standard11811243
Eng C et al. (Eng et al., 2019)2019NCT02788279IMblaze370180Colorectal cancer3Atezolizumab909028
3Standard908046
Herbst RS et al. (Herbst et al., 2020)2020NCT02409342IMpower110554Non small cell lung cancer3Atezolizumab27728697
3Standard277263149
Bang YJ et al. (Bang et al., 2018)2018NCT02625623JAVELIN Gastric 300371Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancer3Avelumab18518417
3Standard18617756
Park K et al. (Park et al., 2021)2021NCT02395172JAVELIN Lung 200529Non small cell lung cancer3Avelumab26439341
3Standard265365180
Pujade-Lauraine E et al. (Pujade-Lauraine et al., 2021)2021NCT02580058JAVELIN Ovarian 200378Ovarian cancer3Avelumab18818730
3Standard19017756
Huang J et al. (Huang et al., 2020)2020NCT03099382ESCORT448Squamous cell carcinoma3Camrelizumab22822844
3Standard22022087
Sezer A et al. (Sezer et al., 2021)2021NCT03088540EMPOWER-Lung 1563Non small cell lung cancer3Cemiplimab28335550
3Standard280342134
O'Reilly EM et al. (O'Reilly et al., 2019)2019NCT02558894NA65Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma2Durvalumab+Tremelimumab32327
2Durvalumab33322
Siu LL et al. (Siu et al., 2019)2019NCT02319044CONDOR267Squamous Cell Carcinoma2Durvalumab+Tremelimumab13313321
2Durvalumab67658
2Tremelimumab676511
Ferris RL et al. (Ferris et al., 2020)2020NCT02369874EAGLE736Squamous cell carcinoma3Durvalumab24023724
3Durvalumab+Tremelimumab24724640
3Standard24924058
Planchard D et al. (Planchard et al., 2020)2020NCT02352948ARCTIC595Non small cell lung cancer3Durvalumab62626
3Durvalumab+Tremelimumab17417338
3Durvalumab11711714
3Tremelimumab606014
3Standard646328
3Standard11811040
Powles T et al. (Powles et al., 2020)2020NCT02516241DANUBE1032Urothelial carcinoma3Durvalumab34634549
3Durvalumab+Tremelimumab34234095
3Standard344313189
Rizvi NA et al. (Rizvi et al., 2020)2020NCT02453282MYSTIC488Non small cell lung cancer3Durvalumab16336955
3Durvalumab+Tremelimumab16337185
3Standard162352119
Bachelot T et al. (Bachelot et al., 2021)2021NCT02299999SAFIR02-BREAST IMMUNO199Breast cancer2Durvalumab686310
2Standard13112917
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2010)2010NCT00094653MDX010-20273Melanoma3Ipilimumab13713130
3Standard13613215
Bang YJ et al. (Bang et al., 2017)2017NCT01585987NA108Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancer2Ipilimumab575713
2Standard51454
Borghaei H et al. (Borghaei et al., 2015)2015NCT01673867CheckMate 057582Non small cell lung cancer3Nivolumab29228730
3Standard290268144
Brahmer J et al. (Brahmer et al., 2015)2015NCT01642004CheckMate 017272Non small cell lung cancer3Nivolumab1351319
3Standard13712971
Motzer RJ et al. (Motzer et al., 2015)2015NCT01668784CheckMate 025821Renal cell carcinoma3Nivolumab41040676
3Standard411397145
Ferris RL et al. (Ferris et al., 2016)2016NCT02105636CheckMate 141361Squamous cell carcinoma3Nivolumab24023631
3Standard12111139
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2016)2016NCT01927419CheckMate 069142Melanoma2Nivolumab+Ipilimumab959451
2Ipilimumab47469
Carbone DP et al. (Carbone et al., 2017)2017NCT02041533CheckMate 026541Non small cell lung cancer3Nivolumab27126747
3Standard270263133
Weber J et al. (Weber et al., 2017)2017NCT02388906CheckMate 238906Melanoma3Nivolumab45345265
3Ipilimumab453453208
Amaria RN et al. (Amaria et al., 2018)2018NCT02519322NA23Melanoma2Nivolumab12121
2Nivolumab+Ipilimumab11118
Hodi FS et al. (Hodi et al., 2018)2018NCT01844505CheckMate 067945Melanoma3Nivolumab+Ipilimumab314313185
3Ipilimumab31531186
3Nivolumab31631370
Larkin J et al. (Larkin et al., 2018)2018NCT01721746CheckMate 037405Melanoma3Nivolumab27226837
3Standard13310284
Ascierto PA et al. (Ascierto et al., 2019)2019NCT01721772CheckMate 066418Melanoma3Nivolumab21020631
3Standard20820536
Hellmann MD et al. (Hellmann et al., 2019)2019NCT02477826CheckMate 2271166Non small cell lung cancer3Nivolumab+Ipilimumab583576189
3Standard583570205
Kato K et al. (Kato et al., 2019)2019NCT02569242ATTRACTION-3419Squamous cell carcinoma3Nivolumab21020938
3Standard209208133
Scherpereel A et al. (Scherpereel et al., 2019)2019NCT02716272IFCT-1501 MAPS2125Malignant pleural mesothelioma2Nivolumab63639
2Nivolumab+Ipilimumab626116
Wu YL et al. (Wu et al., 2019)2019NCT02613507CheckMate 078504Non small cell lung cancer3Nivolumab33833735
3Standard16615674
Motzer RJ et al. (Motzer et al., 2020)2020NCT02231749CheckMate 2141096Renal cell carcinoma3Nivolumab+Ipilimumab550547259
3Standard546535343
Reardon DA et al. (Reardon et al., 2020)2020NCT02017717CheckMate 143369Glioblastoma3Nivolumab18418233
3Standard18516525
Zimmer L et al. (Zimmer et al., 2020)2020NCT02523313IMMUNED115Melanoma2Nivolumab+Ipilimumab565539
2Nivolumab595615
Baas P et al. (Baas et al., 2021)2021NCT02899299CheckMate 743605Malignant pleural mesothelioma3Nivolumab+Ipilimumab30330091
3Standard30228491
Owonikoko TK et al. (Owonikoko et al., 2021)2021NCT02538666CheckMate 451559Small cell lung cancer3Nivolumab+Ipilimumab279278145
3Nivolumab28027932
Spigel DR et al. (Spigel et al., 2021)2021NCT02481830CheckMate 331569Small cell lung cancer3Nivolumab28428239
3Standard285265194
Tannir NM et al. (Tannir et al., 2021)2021NACheckMate 214139Renal cell carcinoma3Nivolumab+Ipilimumab747336
3Standard656529
Ribas A et al. (Ribas et al., 2013)2013NCT00257205NA655Melanoma3Tremelimumab328325192
3Standard327319132
Herbst RS et al. (Herbst et al., 2016)2016NCT01905657KEYNOTE-010687Non small cell lung cancer2/3Pembrolizumab34433943
2/3Standard343309109
Hamid O et al. (Hamid et al., 2017)2017NCT01704287KEYNOTE-002359Melanoma2Pembrolizumab18017824
2Standard17917145
Shitara K et al. (Shitara et al., 2018)2018NCT02370498KEYNOTE-061395Gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancer3Pembrolizumab19629442
3Standard19927696
Cohen EEW et al. (Cohen et al., 2019)2019NCT02252042KEYNOTE-040495Squamous cell carcinoma3Pembrolizumab24724633
3Standard24823485
Fradet Y et al. (Fradet et al., 2019)2019NCT02256436KEYNOTE-045542Urothelial cancer3Pembrolizumab27026644
3Standard272255128
Mok TSK et al. (Mok et al., 2019)2019NCT02220894KEYNOTE-0421274Non-small cell lung cancer3Pembrolizumab637636113
3Standard637615252
Reck M et al. (Reck et al., 2019)2019NCT02142738KEYNOTE-024305Non-small cell lung cancer3Pembrolizumab15415448
3Standard15115080
Robert C et al. (Robert et al., 2019)2019NCT01866319KEYNOTE-006834Melanoma3Pembrolizumab556555103
3Ipilimumab27825654
André T et al. (André et al., 2020)2020NCT02563002KEYNOTE-177307Colorectal cancer3Pembrolizumab15315386
3Standard154143111
Kojima T et al. (Kojima et al., 2020)2020NCT02564263KEYNOTE-181628Esophageal cancer3Pembrolizumab31431457
3Standard314296121
Popat S et al. (Popat et al., 2020)2020NCT02991482ETOP 9-15144Malignant pleural mesothelioma3Pembrolizumab737214
3Standard717018
Kuruvilla J et al. (Kuruvilla et al., 2021)2021NCT02684292KEYNOTE-204304Hodgkin lymphoma3Pembrolizumab15114829
3Standard15315238

List of the studies involving serious AEs in this meta-analysis.

AEs = Adverse events.

PFS is considered to be the primary endpoint of randomized clinical trials evaluating patients with solid tumors (Korn and Crowley, 2013). OS is defined as the time from the start of treatment to death or the last follow-up. The HRs of PFS and OS represent HRs between treatment 1 and 2. In assessing AEs, we chose treatment-related or drug-related AEs as the main results. If there were no treatment or drug-related AEs in studies, we included all AEs. The classification of AEs is often used to evaluate the type and severity of AEs in clinical trials. According to AE classification, grade 3 or higher AEs are considered as severe AEs. The risk of severe AEs is the focus of the evaluation of therapeutic effectiveness, so the number of AEs surveyed and severe AEs were both extracted (Xu et al., 2018).

2.3 Data Synthesis and Statistical Analysis

2.3.1 Adverse Events Analysis

We used gemtc and pcnetmeta packages in R v4.0.3 and called JAGS v4.3.0 to perform statistical analysis in a Bayesian framework based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, and generated the graph depicting the network geometry (Wang et al., 2019).

Firstly, we made a rough comparison between the fit of the consistent model with the inconsistent model. Secondly, the inconsistency on the specific comparison was tested by node splitting analysis. p < 0.05 was considered as indicating a significant inconsistency. Outstanding consistency is the key to robust results, as evidenced by the consistency between direct and indirect results. We compared the results of network meta-analysis (indirect results) with those of pairwise analysis (direct results) to explore the sources of inconsistency. Additionally, if there existed significant heterogeneity, we used the random-effect model. Otherwise, we used the fixed-effect model (Dias et al., 2011). We used non-information prior distributions and overdispersed initial values (scaling 2.5) in 3 chains to fit the model. 56 independent randomized controlled experiments yielded 100,000 iterations (including 20,000 optimization iterations) with 10 refinement intervals for each chain. This method was used to generate a posterior distribution of model parameters. The convergence of iterations was evaluated by using the Gelman-Rubin-Brooks statistics, all of which converge near 1. Based on the odds ratio (OR) advantage ratio and posterior probability, we ranked probabilities of each treatment as the safest, followed by the second, third and so on.

2.4 Progression-free Survival and Overall Survival Analysis

For the consistency and heterogeneity analysis of PFS and OS, we chose to use R’s netmeta package in the Frequentist framework to make a preliminary judgment using the traditional frequency method, avoiding the artificial bias caused by complex prior settings, settings of dummy variables and variance-covariance matrices of regression models in Bayesian statistics, which would simplify the operator’s parameter setting. The I2 test was used to evaluate the heterogeneity between studies, with the significance level set as p < 0.05. I2 greater than 25, 50 or 75% indicated low, medium and high heterogeneity respectively. If significant heterogeneity exists, the random-effect model was used. Otherwise, we employed the fixed-effect model (Higgins and Thompson, 2002).

Since Bayesian statistics are more accurate and the results are highly consistent with those in the frequency model, we subsequently chose the Bayesian framework by using the MCMC method in WinBUGS v1.4.3 for network meta-analysis. We used the consistency model (due to I2 < 25) to calculate HRs and 95% CIs. We simulated 3 different chains, each with 45,000 built-in samples, resulting in 15 iterations with a refinement rate of 15 (3 different chains with 15,000 iterations and 45,000 burn-in samples and 50 thinning rates). The model fitting was further determined according to the deviation information criterion. The output was a posterior distribution of relative effect size, and we got the estimated average of HR and 95% CI (95% CI as the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles) (van Valkenhoef et al., 2012). The ranking probability distribution was calculated, ranking the probabilities of each treatment as the safest, followed by the second, third and so on.

3 Results

3.1 Literature Search and Study Characteristics

After a preliminary search, a total of 2,841 related articles were identified. After the screening of the title and abstract, 2,495 studies were excluded because they did not meet the corresponding standards. We carefully reviewed the remaining studies and then incorporated 63 RCTs for final analysis (2,14–75). The literature selection flowchart is shown in Figure 1. Of these, 48 RCTs involving 22,519 patients were analyzed for HRs of PFS, 51 RCTs involving 27,150 patients were analyzed for HRs of OS, and 55 RCTs involving 26,747 patients were analyzed for severe AEs (Figure 2).

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2

In terms of PFS, ICI drugs included nivolumab (n = 13), pembrolizumab (n = 13), atezolizumab (n = 6), durvalumab (n = 6), ipilimumab (n = 5), avelumab (n = 3), tremelimumab (n = 2), camrelizumab (n = 1), cemiplimab (n = 1), nivolumab plus ipilimumab (n = 7), durvalumab plus tremelimumab (n = 5). Cancer types tested in these studies include lung cancer (n = 16), melanoma (n = 6), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 6), gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancer (n = 4), renal cell carcinoma (n = 4), colorectal cancer (n = 2), malignant pleural mesothelioma (n = 2), ovarian cancer (n = 2), urothelial cancer (n = 2), breast cancer (n = 1), esophageal cancer (n = 1), glioblastoma (n = 1), Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 1) (Figure 2A).

In terms of OS, ICI drugs included nivolumab (n = 13), pembrolizumab (n = 13), durvalumab (n = 7), atezolizumab (n = 6), ipilimumab (n = 6), avelumab (n = 3), tremelimumab (n = 3), camrelizumab (n = 1), cemiplimab (n = 1), nivolumab plus ipilimumab (n = 7), durvalumab plus tremelimumab (n = 6). Cancer types tested in these studies include lung cancer (n = 17), melanoma (n = 9), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 6), urothelial cancer (n = 4), gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancer (n = 3), renal cell carcinoma (n = 3), breast cancer (n = 2), colorectal cancer (n = 1), malignant pleural mesothelioma (n = 2), ovarian cancer (n = 2), esophageal cancer (n = 1), glioblastoma (n = 1) (Figure 2B).

In terms of severe AEs, ICI drugs included nivolumab (n = 17), pembrolizumab (n = 12), durvalumab (n = 8), atezolizumab (n = 6), ipilimumab (n = 6), avelumab (n = 3), tremelimumab (n = 3), camrelizumab (n = 1), cemiplimab (n = 1), nivolumab plus ipilimumab (n = 11), durvalumab plus tremelimumab (n = 7). Cancer types tested in these studies include lung cancer (n = 17), melanoma (n = 11), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 6), renal cell carcinoma (n = 4), gastric/gastrooesophageal junction cancer (n = 3), malignant pleural mesothelioma (n = 3), urothelial cancer (n = 3), colorectal cancer (n = 2), breast cancer (n = 1), esophageal cancer (n = 1), glioblastoma (n = 1), hodgkin lymphoma (n = 1), ovarian cancer (n = 1), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (n = 1) (Figure 2C).

3.2 Progression-free Survival

In analyzing PFS, no significant heterogeneity (I2 = 19%) or inconsistency was observed (p = 0.97) (Supplementary Table S2). Therefore, the Bayesian fixed-effect model was used. HRs and 95% CI from the network meta-analysis are shown in Figure 3A. Treatment with ipilimumab was significantly worse in terms of PFS than standard therapies, whereas treatment with cemiplimab significantly improved PFS. According to the probability ranking diagram, the results showed that cemiplimab was the best choice in terms of PFS, camrelizumab ranked the second safest and nivolumab plus ipilimumab ranked the third safest, whereas ipilimumab was the worst (Figure 3B). Additionally, treatment with ipilimumab was significantly worse than most other treatments in terms of PFS. Interestingly, nivolumab plus ipilimumab significantly improved PFS compared to ipilimumab, which suggested that treatment with combinations of ICI drugs may benefit PFS compared to monotherapy. The results calculated according to the frequency model were highly consistent with the results of the Bayesian fixed-effect model.

FIGURE 3

Additionally, we performed subgroup analyses based on treatment of different cancer types, particularly lung cancer and melanoma. The safety profile and probability ranking diagram for lung cancer and melanoma are shown in Supplementary Figures S1, S4 in the Supplement respectively. Cemiplimab was also the best choice in terms of PFS in treating lung cancer, and nivolumab plus ipilimumab ranked the second safest. Compared with standard therapies, HR (95% CI) for cemiplimab was 0.77 (0.61–0.96). Treatment with cemiplimab also significantly improved PFS compared to nivolumab. Tremelimumab was considered the worst choice in terms of PFS in treating lung cancer. In terms of melanoma, our results showed that nivolumab plus ipilimumab was the best choice for PFS. HR (95% CI) for nivolumab plus ipilimumab was 0.69 (0.52–0.92) compared with standard therapies. In addition, HRs (95% CI) for nivolumab and pembrolizumab were 0.78 (0.65–0.94) and 0.80 (0.64–0.99) respectively. The probability ranking diagram of melanoma indicated that ipilimumab was the worst choice for PFS.

3.3 Overall Survival

In analyzing OS, no consistency (I2 = 0%) or inconsistency (p = 0.60) (Supplementary Table S2) was observed, and so the Bayesian fixed-effects model was applied. HRs and 95% CI are shown in Figure 4A. Treatment with nivolumab, pembrolizumab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab significantly improved OS compared to standard therapies. According to the probability ranking diagram, cemiplimab was the best choice in terms of OS, and durvalumab ranked the second safest, whereas avelumab was the worst (Figure 4B). Of note, nivolumab plus ipilimumab may improve OS compared with nivolumab and ipilimumab monotherapy, which was similar to durvalumab plus tremelimumab compared with durvalumab and tremelimumab monotherapy. The results calculated based on the frequency model were also highly similar to the results of the Bayesian fixed-effect model.

FIGURE 4

We also conducted subgroup analyses for lung cancer and melanoma. The safety profiles and probability ranking diagrams of lung cancer and melanoma are shown in Supplementary Figures S5, S8 in the Supplement. For lung cancer treatment, cemiplimab was the best option for OS and durvalumab ranked the second safest. Safety profile of lung cancer suggested that compared with standard therapies, HRs (95% CI) for nivolumab, nivolumab plus ipilimumab and pembrolizumab were 0.91 (0.82–0.99), 0.87 (0.76–0.99), and 0.89 (0.80–0.99) respectively. Standard therapies were considered to be the worst option for lung cancer in terms of OS whereas. For melanoma treatment, nivolumab plus ipilimumab was the best option. Safety profiles showed that HR (95% CI) for nivolumab was 0.84 (0.71–0.99) compared with standard therapies. Our results also indicated that standard therapies were the worst choice for melanoma in terms of OS.

3.4 Severe Adverse Events

In the network meta-analyses of severe AEs, high heterogeneity was found (Supplememntary Table S3), and the random-effect model was employed. Safety profile in the consistency model is shown in Figure 5A. Atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab, nivolumab, and pembrolizumab all significantly reduced the risk of grade 3 or higher AEs compared to standard therapies. Compared with standard therapies, ORs (95% CI) for atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab, nivolumab, and pembrolizumab were 0.23 (0.13–0.42), 0.22 (0.10–0.49), 0.30 (0.17–0.52), 0.21 (0.14–0.31), and 0.37 (0.25–0.56) respectively. It is worth noting that there was no direct evidence that durvalumab plus tremelimumab could reduce the risk of severe AEs compared to durvalumab and tremelimumab monotherapy. Similarly, there was no evidence that the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab could significantly reduce the risk of AEs compared with nivolumab and ipilimumab monotherapy. Even combination therapies increased the risk of severe AEs (durvalumab vs. durvalumab plus tremelimumab: [OR], 0.52%; 95% CI, 0.29–0.94; nivolumab vs. nivolumab plus ipilimumab: [OR], 0.17%; 95% CI, 0.10–0.29).

FIGURE 5

Figure 5B shows the probability ranking diagram of 12 interventions. The probabilities of becoming the safest choice for severe AEs were as follows: cemiplimab (26.3%), avelumab (25.9%), nivolumab (18.2%), atezolizumab (14.5%), and camrelizumab (11.8%). The remaining interventions were all less than 5% likely to be the safest option, with nivolumab plus ipilimumab appearing to be the worst choice.

Through node splitting analysis, significant inconsistency could not be detected for most comparisons (Supplementary Table S4). There was significant inconsistency between ipilimumab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab, and ipilimumab and standard therapies (p < 0.05). The comparison between nivolumab plus ipilimumab and standard therapies also showed a degree of inconsistency (p = 0.08). In the direct comparisons, patients receiving nivolumab plus ipilimumab were more likely to have severe AEs than those receiving ipilimumab, and patients receiving ipilimumab were more likely to have severe AEs than those receiving standard therapies. However, patients receiving standard therapies were more likely to have severe AEs than those receiving nivolumab plus ipilimumab. The comparison between the above three groups may be the main reason for the inconsistency.

We performed subgroup analyses of lung cancer, melanoma, and squamous cell carcinoma treatment. The respective safety profiles and probability ranking diagram are shown in Supplementary Figures S9, S14 in the Supplement. Interestingly, the results suggested that nivolumab was the joint best choice for lung cancer, melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Standard therapies, based on the probability ranking diagram, were considered to be the worst for lung cancer and squamous cell carcinoma treatment, and nivolumab plus ipilimumab was the worst for melanoma treatment.

4 Discussion

In order to comprehensively evaluate the safety and efficacy of ICI drug monotherapy and combination therapies, we conducted a network meta-analysis combining HRs of PFS and OS, and the risk of severe AEs, and performed subgroup analyses particularly for lung cancer and melanoma. The application of bioinformatics is often used to analyze published data (Wu et al., 2017). To our knowledge, this study is the first comprehensive report comparing PFS HRs, OS HRs, and corresponding treatment-related severe AEs among ICI drug monotherapy, combination therapies and standard therapies.

In terms of PFS and OS, we first tested the heterogeneity and consistency of network meta-analysis based on the frequency method. No significant heterogeneity and consistency were found, indicating that this network meta-analysis was consistent in PFS and OS. We used the frequency model and the Bayesian model separately. The results of the frequency model and the Bayesian model agree well. In view of the greater accuracy of the Bayesian model, our final results were presented by the Bayesian model.

In terms of PFS, treatment with ipilimumab was significantly worse than standard therapies, whereas treatment with cemiplimab significantly improved PFS. The results also indicated that cemiplimab was the best choice for PFS. Treatment with nivolumab, pembrolizumab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab significantly improved OS compared to standard therapies. For OS, cemiplimab was considered to be the best choice, whereas avelumab was the worst. Since few studies compared cemiplimab and camrelizumab with other therapies, nivolumab plus ipilimumab ranked the third safest in PFS and durvalumab ranked the second safest in terms of OS. In comparing ICI drug combination therapies with monotherapy, we found that nivolumab plus ipilimumab significantly improved PFS compared to ipilimumab. Additionally, nivolumab plus ipilimumab may improve OS compared with nivolumab and ipilimumab monotherapy, similar to durvalumab plus tremelimumab compared with durvalumab, and tremelimumab monotherapy. However, further studies are needed to compare the safety and efficacy of ICI drug combination treatment with monotherapy. Although abundant included studies may lead to low significance of the overall results in terms of PFS and OS, we thought that the results would be more reliable and further performed subgroup analysis.

Severe AEs were examined as the measure of the toxicity of different ICI drug therapies and standard therapies. In terms of severe AEs, there was a large inconsistency in the comparison between the above three groups, which is similar to inconsistency reported by Chen et al (Xu et al., 2018), but the degree of inconsistency was more obvious in the comparison between ipilimumab and standard therapies in this study. We considered the main reasons as follows: In spite that the inclusion and exclusion criteria in our study are similar to those of Chen et al, eligible studies with inconsistent results were relatively abundant, which may lead to higher inconsistency. Of note, Chen et al combined durvalumab plus tremelimumab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab as the two ICI drug group, however, we grouped them in our study to assess the safety and efficacy more precisely.

4.1 Strengths and Limitations

The main strengths of our studies are as follows: we used the Bayesian model to conduct network meta-analysis and then employed the frequency model for inconsistency test and result verification in terms of PFS and OS. We found that the results of the frequency model were highly consistent with those of the Bayesian model, and we represented our final results from the Bayesian model, which greatly enhanced the reliability of conclusions. To comprehensively investigate the safety and efficacy of various ICI drugs, we analyzed three different indicators PFS, OS and severe AEs. Of note, we included enough studies to ensure the accuracy of the results. Despite that some studies represent the data of the same RCTs at different times, we chose the most recent results as much as possible.

This study also has several limitations. Firstly, enrolled studies showed high heterogeneity. In order to avoid publication bias, we tested the heterogeneity and used different models accordingly. Secondly, the number of RCTs that meet the requirements for inclusion is different among ICI drugs at present, and there is obvious inconsistency in severe AEs, which require more studies for higher-level verification. Thirdly, despite randomization of the eligible studies, there are still characteristic imbalances between the groups in trials.

5 Conclusion

In the present study, the Bayesian model was used to comprehensively assess survival data and the risk of severe AEs for ICI drugs, which showed that different ICI drug therapies may pose different risks in terms of PFS, OS and severe AEs. Our study may provide new insights and strategies for the clinical practice of ICI drugs.

Statements

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusion of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Author contributions

The authors (ZX, JL and ZZ) contributed equally to this work. ZX and JL contributed to the design of the study, literature search and data analysis. ZX and ZZ identified eligible trials, extracted the data and assessed the quality of clinical trials. CC and WC provided some ideas for this study. BJ and GZ processed the data and generated the tables and figures. YW and YM contributed to the interpretation of the data. BB and JW drafted and critically revised the manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the Youth Medical Talent of Jiangsu Province (grant no. QNRC2016475).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.883655/full#supplementary-material

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Summary

Keywords

immune checkpoint inhibitor, cancer immunotherapy, programmed death-1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1), cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4)

Citation

Xiang Z, Li J, Zhang Z, Cen C, Chen W, Jiang B, Meng Y, Wang Y, Berglund B, Zhai G and Wu J (2022) Comprehensive Evaluation of Anti-PD-1, Anti-PD-L1, Anti-CTLA-4 and Their Combined Immunotherapy in Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Front. Pharmacol. 13:883655. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.883655

Received

28 February 2022

Accepted

03 May 2022

Published

25 May 2022

Volume

13 - 2022

Edited by

Yonggang Zhang, Sichuan University, China

Reviewed by

Zhenjian Zhuo, Guangzhou Medical University, China

Haicheng Tang, Fudan University, China

Updates

Copyright

*Correspondence: Jian Wu, ; Guanghua Zhai,

†These authors contributed equally to this work

This article was submitted to Drugs Outcomes Research and Policies, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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