Hyperprogressive disease on immune checkpoint therapy in advanced solid malignancies: A systematic review.

Abstract

154 Background: Immune checkpoint therapy has changed the treatment landscape for many malignancies. As these agents are rapidly being incorporated into clinical practice, a subset of patients appear to have an accelerated tumor growth rate (TGR) after treatment initiation, a phenomenon termed hyperprogressive disease (HPD). Methods: A systematic search of original articles published between January 2000 and June 2018 was performed using PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported on HPD in adult patients with advanced solid malignancies treated with checkpoint inhibitors and provided a specific HPD definition. Abstracts from ASCO, ESMO, and IASLC meetings were also included. Prespecified outcomes of interest included criteria used to define HPD, incidence of HPD, and association between HPD with baseline clinical or molecular characteristics and survival outcomes. Results: Of 700 studies screened, 12 retrospective studies were eligible, 3 of which evaluated patients treated in the context of clinical trials. Lung cancer and melanoma were the most common of the diverse histologies represented. The most common treatment was anti-PD1/PD-L1 monotherapy. A variety of criteria were utilized to define HPD, including TGR, RECIST progression, and time to treatment failure. HPD incidence ranged from 2% to 29%, and the only clinical factor significantly associated with HPD in more than one study was increased age. MDM2/4 and EGFR alterations appear to be associated with a higher incidence of HPD. HPD was significantly associated with poor overall survival in 3 studies. Conclusions: It remains unclear whether HPD reflects worsening disease caused by immunotherapy or is simply a manifestation of unfavorable, treatment unresponsive disease biology. There is a need to establish a consensus definition for HPD, and to examine HPD in prospective cohorts with appropriate comparison arms.