Maintenance Therapy in Metastatic Solid Tumors: Innovative Strategy or Simple Second-line Treatment?

Efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor as maintenance therapy for advanced or metastatic cancers: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as maintenance therapy for advanced or metastatic cancers.

METHODS

The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for eligible randomized controlled trials. A meta-analysis of eligible studies investigating the outcomes including progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and objective response rate (ORR) with a significance level set to 0.05 was performed.

RESULTS

Five RCTs (n = 2828) were identified in this analysis. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) of PFS and OS for ICI maintenance therapy were 0.88 (95% CI: 0.68-1.13, P = .31) and 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74-0.92, P = .0005), respectively; the pooled odds ratio (OR) of ORR was 2.24 (95% CI: 1.23-4.09, P = .0008). Subgroup analysis indicated that anti-PD-L1 antibody significantly improved the OS (P = .0008), while anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-1 plus anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 antibodies significantly prolonged the PFS of patients.

CONCLUSION

ICI maintenance therapy enhanced the survival of patients with advanced or metastatic cancers.

Cancer therapy's impact on lipid metabolism: Mechanisms and future avenues

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a growing threat among cancer patients. Not surprisingly, cancer-targeting therapies have been linked to metabolic dysregulation including changes in local and systemic lipid metabolism. Thus, tumor development and cancer therapeutics are intimately linked to cholesterol metabolism and may be a driver of increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this population. Chemotherapeutic agents affect lipid metabolism through diverse mechanisms. In this review, we highlight the mechanistic and clinical evidence linking commonly used cytotoxic therapies with cholesterol metabolism and potential opportunities to limit atherosclerotic risk in this patient population. Better understanding of the link between atherosclerosis, cancer therapy, and cholesterol metabolism may inform optimal lipid therapy for cancer patients and mitigate cardiovascular disease burden.

Maintenance therapy in patients with mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome: A neglected topic

In advanced-stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), the current therapeutic options rarely provide long-lasting responses, leaving allogenic stem-cell transplantation the only potentially curative option for highly selected patients. Until today, there are no standardised strategies for maintenance therapy in patients with CTCL who achieved disease control. Moreover, evidence-based treatment options or drugs that are approved for maintenance treatment in advanced stages after remission induction are still lacking. Patients require maintenance options that provide a good safety profile, are convenient to apply and do not negatively affect their health-related quality of life. However, carrying out large-scale, controlled studies is challenging in CTCL. In addition to information on the concept of maintenance therapy, this review provides an update on current and emerging approaches that target maintenance treatment in advanced-stage CTCL. After all, the group of potentially interesting maintenance therapy candidates, especially for patients in advanced stage, includes not only immunomodulating and phototherapeutic modalities that have been used already for many decades but also newer systemic therapies, including epigenetic modifiers.