Evaluation of the clinical benefits of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced melanoma.

Abstract

194 Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors selection in advanced melanoma is complicated further, with choices among anti-CTLA4 or anti-PD-1 therapeutic antibodies options. We aimed to evaluate the clinical benefits of immune checkpoint inhibitors for discussing evidence-based treatment strategies by a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) data. Methods: We searched for RCTs investigating immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced melanoma until September 2017. Hazard ratios (HRs) was estimated for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The quality of the evidence was evaluated with the GRADE framework. Results: Overall, 18 RCTs including a total of 8,917 patients were identified. Immune checkpoint inhibitors versus placebo or observation prolonged PFS (HR = 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44 to 0.78, P < 0.0001) and OS (HR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.84, P < 0.0001). The combination immunotherapy had significantly higher benefit than monotherapy for PFS (HR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.92, P = 0.005) and OS (HR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.79, P < 0.0001). Treatment with anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody was associated with improved PFS (HR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.69, P < 0.0001) and OS (HR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.77, P < 0.0001) compared with anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody. According to BRAF status analysis, there was a PFS benefit of immune checkpoint inhibitors versus placebo or observation (mutant, HR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.96, P = 0.035; wild–type, HR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.69, P = 0.001), anti-PD-1 outperformed anti-CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor (mutant, PFS HR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.79, P < 0.0001; wild–type, PFS HR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.71, P < 0.0001); and combination compared with single-agent immunotherapy (mutant, HR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.98, P = 0.046; wild–type, HR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.69, P = 0.001). Conclusions: This analysis provides an evidence that immune checkpoint inhibitors enhanced OS and PFS in patients with advanced melanoma, as well as combination immunotherapy and anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody appear to be clinically beneficial option preference.