Efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients of different ages: a meta-analysis

Efficacy of adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors pembrolizumab or nivolumab in melanoma patients ≥ 75 years: results of a real-world cohort including 456 patients

BACKGROUND

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) applied in patients with melanoma in an adjuvant setting have proven safety and efficacy in several studies, but data on elderly patients aged 75 years or more is scarce. Aim of this study was to investigate efficacy and safety of adjuvant ICI in patients aged ≥ 75 years compared to patients < 75 years in a real-world setting.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed clinical data, including occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAE) and outcome of 456 patients that had been treated with adjuvant ICI between January 1st, 2018 and December 20th, 2022. We then compared patients aged ≥ 75 years (n = 117) to patients < 75 years (n = 339) in terms of safety and disease-free survival (DFS).

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

ICI were well tolerated in both groups, with no significant difference observed in the overall occurrence of irAE. However, within the elderly subgroup, there was a significantly higher proportion of skin or nephrological toxicity and colitis/diarrhea compared to the other group. In terms of efficacy, a significantly shorter DFS in patients aged ≥ 75 years was observed. Adjuvant ICI in patients ≥ 75 years was less effective and furthermore associated with an increased risk for skin, renal or bowel toxicity. Therefore, in elderly patients, adjuvant ICI should be used with precaution.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor for different age patients with NSCLC in efficacy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

This article is a Meta-analysis aiming to systematically evaluate the difference in efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by age.

METHODS

We performed a Meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials concerning for patients with NSCLC by age. We compared overall survival among three groups (age <65 years, age 65-75 years, age ≥75 years). Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were collected and pooled.

RESULTS

A total of 10,291 patients from 17 RCTs were included. In the group under age 65 years, immune checkpoint inhibitor can significantly prolong the overall survival of patients with NSCLC (HR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.66∼0.81, P < 0.00001). In the age 65-75 years group, immune checkpoint inhibitors prolonged overall survival in patients with NSCLC (HR = 0.78, 95% CI:0.71∼0.84, P < 0.00001). However, it has no significant effect on the overall survival of NSCLC patients (HR = 0.88, 95% CI:0.72∼1.08, P > 0.05) in the group older than 75 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Immune checkpoint inhibitors prolonged the overall survival of NSCLC patients in the age <65 years group and the age 65-75 years group, but in the age ≥75 years group, there was no significant effect on overall survival. This may be related to innate immune and adaptive immune dysregulation due to "immunosenescence" in older patients.

Age-associated remodeling of T cell immunity and metabolism

Aging results in remodeling of T cell immunity and is associated with poor clinical outcomes in age-related diseases such as cancer. Among the hallmarks of aging, changes in host and cellular metabolism critically affect the development, maintenance, and function of T cells. Although metabolic perturbations impact anti-tumor T cell responses, the link between age-associated metabolic dysfunction and anti-tumor immunity remains unclear. In this review, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of aged T cell metabolism, with a focus on the bioenergetic and immunologic features of T cell subsets unique to the aging process. We also survey insights into mechanisms of metabolic T cell dysfunction in aging and discuss the impacts of aging on the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. As the average life expectancy continues to increase, understanding the interplay between age-related metabolic reprogramming and maladaptive T cell immunity will be instrumental for the development of therapeutic strategies for older patients.

Flausino L, Iyer G, Balkrishnan R. Effectiveness of immunological agents in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continues to claim millions of lives worldwide. Although its poor prognosis is largely attributed to the lack of adequate and precise detection technologies, cancer cells' suppression of the immune system adds on to the difficulty of identifying abnormal NSCLC tumors in their early stages. Therefore, cancer immunotherapy, which activates the immune system and helps it fight tumors, has recently become the most sought-after technique, especially in the advanced stages of NSCLC, where surgery or chemotherapy may or may not bring about the desired survival benefits in patients.

METHODS

This review focuses on the various immunotherapeutic interventions and their efficacy in advanced NSCLC clinical trials. Monoclonal antibodies like anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agents and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses and adoptive T cell therapy have been discussed in brief. Furthermore, the effects of gender, age, and race on the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors and suggest plausible future approaches in the realm of immuno-oncology.

RESULTS

Immunotherapy is used alone or in combination either with other immunological agents or with chemotherapy. However, the efficacy of these strategies depends extensively on various demographic variables, as some patients respond perfectly well to immunotherapy, while others do not benefit at all or experience disease progression. By targeting a "hallmark" of cancer (immune evasion), immunotherapy has transformed NSCLC management, though several barriers prevent its complete effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

All these immunological strategies should be interpreted in the current setting of synergistic treatment, in which these agents can be combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and, or surgery following patient and tumor characteristics to proportionate the best-individualized treatment and achieve superior results. To better pursue this goal, further investigations on cost-effectiveness and sex-gender, race, and age differences in immunotherapy are needed.

Lack of Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Cancer Patients Older Than 75?

This research was designed to compare the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer patients among different age groups. Electronic databases were searched to identify relevant trials. Randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) with ICIs and RCTs that conducted subgroup analysis of overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free survival (PFS) based on age were included. Summary hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were available. Totally, 35,777 individuals from 59 RCTs were recruited. ICIs can ameliorate OS and PFS of cancer patients in groups of below 65 year and 65-75 years. Conversely, patients in group of 75 years or above failed to acquire benefit from ICIs for both OS (HR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.91-1.09, P =0.8767) and PFS (HR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.82-1.11, P =0.5694). Subgroup analysis was performed based on class of ICIs, type of ICIs, type of cancer, line of treatment, blind method, and type of nonsmall-cell lung cancer. In all subgroups, OS and PFS were not significantly improved in patients 75 years or above. Cancer patients older than 75 years failed to acquire remarkable benefit from ICIs for both OS and PFS.

Influence of Different Age Cutoff Points on the Prediction of Prognosis of Cancer Patients Receiving ICIs and Potential Mechanistic Exploration

Age is a potential predictive marker for the prognosis of cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), but the appropriate age cutoff point is still controversial. We aimed to explore the influence of different age cutoff points on the prediction of prognosis for patients receiving ICIs and explore the mechanism underlying the appropriate age cutoff point from the aspects of gene mutation and expression, immune cell infiltration and so on. We applied cutoff points of 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, and 75 years old to divide 1660 patients from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) immunotherapy cohort into older and younger groups and performed survival analysis of the six subgroups. The results showed that older patients had better survival than younger patients in accordance with the cutoff point of 50 years old [median overall survival (OS) (95% CI): 13.0 (10.5-15.5) months vs. 20.0 (16.7-23.3) months; p=0.002; unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI): 0.77 (0.65-0.91)], whereas no significant difference was observed with other cutoff points. Further analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the MSKCC immunotherapy cohort data showed that the tumor mutation burden (TMB), neoantigen load (NAL), DNA damage response and repair (DDR) pathway mutation status, mutation frequencies of most genes (except IDH1, BRAF and ATRX), the expression of most immune-related genes and the degree of infiltration of most immune cells (such as CD8+ T cells and M1 macrophages) were higher in the elderly group (aged ≥50 years).

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Patients Aged ≥ 75 Years with Advanced Cancer in First- and Second-Line Settings: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

The impact of aging on the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remains controversial, and little is known on the subject in adults aged ≥ 75 years.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this comprehensive meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of ICIs in patients aged ≥ 75 years.

METHODS

We performed a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials concerning ICIs (as monotherapy or in combination) versus standard therapy in patients with advanced solid tumors between January 2010 and January 2020. We compared overall survival between older (aged ≥ 75 years) and younger (< 75 years) patients. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were collected and pooled. The secondary endpoint focused on the impact of the use of ICIs in first- and second-line settings.

RESULTS

In total, 15 phase III studies evaluating anti-programmed cell death 1 (anti-PD-1) (nivolumab or pembrolizumab), anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1) (atezolizumab or avelumab), or anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (anti-CTLA-4) (ipilimumab) therapies were included. Enrolled patients had non-small-cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, melanoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, or gastric cancer. Eight studies assessed treatment in the first-line setting and seven in the second-line setting. The median age was 64 years, with 906 patients aged ≥ 75 years (552 in first line, 354 in second line) and 8741 were aged < 75 years (4992 in first line, 3749 in second line). In the first-line setting, HRs for death were 0.78 (95% CI 0.61-0.99) in patients aged ≥ 75 years versus 0.84 (95% CI 0.71-1.00) in those aged < 75 years. In the second-line setting, HRs for death were 1.02 (95% CI 0.77-1.36) in patients aged ≥ 75 years versus 0.68 (95% CI 0.61-0.75) in those aged < 75 years, with a statistically significant difference observed between subgroups (p = 0.009 for interaction).

CONCLUSIONS

ICIs appear to be effective in patients aged ≥ 75 years. However, the survival benefit is mainly observed in first-line treatment and remains unclear in the second-line setting.

Efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors and age in cancer patients

Aim: To evaluate the impact of age on the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in cancer patients. Materials & methods: The primary outcomes included overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Subgroup, meta-regression analysis and within-trial interaction HR were conducted. Results: A total of 34 studies containing 20,511 cancer patients were included. ICI could improve the OS and PFS in patient aged <65 and ≥65 years. Patients aged <75 years treated with ICI also had favorable OS and PFS compared with the control groups. Conclusion: ICI has comparable efficacy in cancer patients aged <65 and ≥65 years. Cancer patients aged ≥75 years need more attention in the future clinical trials.

Prognostic role of programmed death-ligand 1 expression in patients with biliary tract cancer: a meta-analysis

Previous studies investigated the prognostic role of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC); however, the results remained controversial. Therefore, we conducted the current meta-analysis with the aim of clarifying the association between PD-L1 expression and prognosis as well as with several important clinicopathological features of BTC. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for relevant studies. Studies that detected PD-L1 expression in tumor cells by using immunohistochemistry (IHC) were selected. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the correlations. In total, 15 independent studies with 1,776 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled data demonstrated that high PD-L1 expression was associated with poor overall survival (n=15, HR=1.79, 95% CI=1.55-2.07, p<0.001). The correlation between PD-L1 expression and disease-free survival was not significant (n=6, HR=1.38, 95% CI=1.00-1.91, p=0.051). In addition, no significant correlation was observed between PD-L1 expression and clinical features in patients with BTC. Our study results showed that PD-L1 expression could play a pivotal role as an effective factor of poor prognosis in patients with BTC.