Cancer immunotherapy efficacy and patients’ age: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Checkpoint inhibitors have been regarded as an alternative to docetaxel as the new standard second-line therapy or even first-line therapy in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), nevertheless, little is known about the effect of patients’ age on the efficiency of immune checkpoint inhibitors as cancer treatments. Thus, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the immune checkpoint inhibitor vs docetaxel efficacy in subgroups defined by patients’ age. Methods A comprehensive search of online databases was performed. The main purpose was to evaluate the difference in efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors between patients above age 65 and under 65, measured in terms of the difference in overall survival log(HR) reported in study participants above and under 65. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled overall survival HR and 95% CI in patients above and under 65. Results A total of 19 eligible randomized controlled trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ipilimumab, tremelimumab, nivolumab, or pembrolizumab) that reported overall survival according to patients’ age were recruited. Overall, the pooled overall survival HR was 0.75 (95% CI 0.67–0.85) (p Conclusions Immune checkpoint inhibitors can improve overall survival for patients with advanced cancers such as non-small-cell lung cancer. However, the magnitude of benefit is age-dependent. Future research should guarantee greater inclusion of patients under age 65 in trials and focus on improving the effectiveness of immunotherapies in patients under age 65. Legal entity responsible for the study Department of Thoracic Surgery and Oncology. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.