| Title: |
Toxicity Associated with Pembrolizumab Monotherapy in Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials. |
| Authors: |
Naleid, Nikolas, Mahipal, Amit, Chakrabarti, Sakti |
| Source: |
Biomedicines; Jan2025, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p229, 15p |
| Subject Terms: |
PROGRAMMED cell death 1 receptors, DRUG side effects, IMMUNE checkpoint inhibitors, TERMINATION of treatment, GASTROINTESTINAL cancer |
| Abstract: |
Background/Objectives: Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting programmed death 1 (PD-1), is a widely employed therapy for various gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. We conducted a systematic review of clinical trials investigating pembrolizumab monotherapy in GI cancer patients to assess the spectrum and incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with pembrolizumab. Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE was performed to identify clinical trials investigating pembrolizumab monotherapy in GI cancer patients. Primary endpoints included the incidence of grade 3 or higher irAEs and the rate of treatment discontinuation due to irAEs. Secondary endpoints encompassed the incidence of any-grade irAEs, as well as specific irAEs. Results: Data extraction and analysis were performed on 25 articles. The analysis included 3101 patients with a median age of 62 years (range 53–68), with 30.2% being female. Tumor types encompassed were colorectal (12%), esophagogastric (46%), hepatocellular carcinoma (24%), and other GI tumor types (18%). The rate of treatment discontinuation due to irAEs was 6.8%. The most prevalent grade 3 or higher irAEs were hepatitis (3.6%), pneumonitis (0.8%), and colitis (0.7%). Death attributed to irAEs was infrequent (0.9%). Conclusions: In patients with GI cancers treated with pembrolizumab monotherapy, severe toxicities are infrequent, and irAEs leading to treatment discontinuation or death are uncommon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: |
Complementary Index |
