Dataset Information

Prognostic Role of Tumor Mutational Burden in Cancer Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Immunotherapy is regarded as the most promising treatment for cancer. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are not effective for all patients. Herein, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore whether tumor mutational burden (TMB) can be used as a potential prognostic biomarker for cancer patients treated with ICIs.

Methods

We systematically retrieved relevant literature published in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases up to December 28, 2020. All cohort studies and clinical trials that reported hazard ratios (HRs) for overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), as well as the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of high and low TMB patients, were included. All statistical analyses were performed using the R software.

Results

Pooled results from a total of 32 studies with 6,131 participants showed significantly increased OS (HR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.53-0.71; P <0.01) and PFS (HR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.44-0.60; P <0.01) for the high TMB group receiving ICIs as compared to the low TMB group. Particularly, results were found to be more significant in studies with larger sample sizes (≥30), Western patients, higher TMB cutoff values (≥20 mut/Mb), anti-PD-1 therapy, and when the sample source was tissue and tumor type was either melanoma, small cell lung cancer, or gastric cancer.

Conclusion

TMB is a promising independent prognostic biomarker for cancer patients receiving ICIs, which could provide a new potential therapeutic strategy for high TMB patients who have failed traditional therapy. Furthermore, consistency in the key aspects of TMB assessment is expected in the future.

Systematic review registration

[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO], Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), identifier: CRD42021229016.

SUBMITTER: Huang T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8358612 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe effect of sarcopenia on the clinical outcomes of patients with malignant neoplasms receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect and survival of patients with malignancies and sarcopenia receiving ICIs.MethodsWe systematically searched related studies in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library up to March 2021 according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Information pertaining to the hazard ratio (HR) corresponding to 95% confidence interval (CI) of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as determined by univariate and multivariate analyses; the odds ratio (OR) corresponding to the 95% CI of the disease control rate (DCR) and objective response rate (ORR); and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) was collected and analyzed using the RevMan 5.4 software. Study heterogeneity and sensitivity were also assessed.ResultsA total of 19 studies were finalized that included 1763patients with lung, gastrointestinal, and head and neck cancers as well as those with melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma. According to univariate and multivariate analyses, patients with sarcopenia at pre-immunotherapy had poorer PFS and OS than those without. HRs and the corresponding 95% CI of PFS were 1.91(1.55-2.34, p <0.00001) and 1.46 (1.20-1.78, p =0.0001), respectively, and HRs and the corresponding 95% CI of OS were 1.78 (1.47-2.14, p <0.00001) and 1.73 (1.36-2.19, p <0.0001), respectively. Patients with sarcopenia showed poor PFS and OS during treatment. In addition, patients with sarcopenia had worse ORR (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.28-0.74, p = 0.001) and DCR (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.31-0.64, p<0.0001); however, the incidence of irAEs of any grade and high-grade in patients with sarcopenia did not increase, OR and the corresponding 95% CI were 0.58(0.30-1.12, p = 0.10) and 0.46(0.19-1.09, p = 0.08). Further, we performed subgroup analysis, skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and psoas muscle mass index (PMI) stratification. In the SMI group, patients with sarcopenia had poor ORR, DCR, PFS, and OS than those without. In the PMI group, sarcopenia had poor ORR,DCR, and was a poor prognostic factor for PFS and OS according to univariate analysis but had no effect on PFS and OS according to multivariate analysis.ConclusionsPatients with malignancies and sarcopenia at pre-immunotherapy or follow-up visits had poorer clinical outcomes than those without, and sarcopenia was a poor predictive factor of ICI immunotherapy outcomes.

Project description:Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) extends survival in a proportion of patients across multiple cancers. Tumor mutational burden (TMB)-the number of somatic mutations per DNA megabase (Mb)-has emerged as a proxy for neoantigen burden that is an independent biomarker associated with ICPI outcomes. Based on findings from recent studies, TMB can be reliably estimated using validated algorithms from next-generation sequencing assays that interrogate a sufficiently large subset of the exome as an alternative to whole-exome sequencing. Biological processes contributing to elevated TMB can result from exposure to cigarette smoke and ultraviolet radiation, from deleterious mutations in mismatch repair leading to microsatellite instability, or from mutations in the DNA repair machinery. A variety of clinical studies have shown that patients with higher TMB experience longer survival and greater response rates following treatment with ICPIs compared with those who have lower TMB levels; this includes a prospective randomized clinical trial that found a TMB threshold of ?10 mutations per Mb to be predictive of longer progression-free survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Multiple trials are underway to validate the predictive values of TMB across cancer types and in patients treated with other immunotherapies. Here we review the rationale, algorithm development methodology, and existing clinical data supporting the use of TMB as a predictive biomarker for treatment with ICPIs. We discuss emerging roles for TMB and its potential future value for stratifying patients according to their likelihood of ICPI treatment response. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Tumor mutational burden (TMB) is a newly established independent predictor of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPI) treatment outcome across multiple tumor types. Certain next-generation sequencing-based techniques allow TMB to be reliably estimated from a subset of the exome without the use of whole-exome sequencing, thus facilitating the adoption of TMB assessment in community oncology settings. Analyses of multiple clinical trials across several cancer types have demonstrated that TMB stratifies patients who are receiving ICPIs by response rate and survival. TMB, alongside other genomic biomarkers, may provide complementary information in selecting patients for ICPI-based therapies.

Project description:Background: Despite an increasing understanding about tumor mutation burden (TMB) in cancer immunity and cancer immunotherapy, the comprehensive cognition between TMB and efficiency of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is still lacking. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the predictive value of TMB on efficacy of ICIs. Methods: Systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library up to June 16, 2019. Pooled odds ratio (OR) of objective response rate (ORR), hazard ratio (HR) of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated by inverse variance weighted fixed-effects model (I 2 ≤ 50%) or DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model (I 2 > 50%). In addition, heterogeneity analysis, sensitivity analysis, publication bias and subgroup analysis were conducted. Moreover, fractional polynomial regression was conducted to investigate the dose-response relationship between TMB cutoffs and efficacy of ICIs. Furthermore, we assessed ORR by TMB and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression after layering each other in studies which the two could be both acquired. Results: Three thousand six hundred fifty-seven records were retrieved through database searching, and 29 studies with 4,431 patients were finally included in the meta-analysis. TMB high group had significantly improved ORR (pooled OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.61, 4.19, P < 0.001), PFS (pooled HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.49, 0.71, P < 0.001) and OS (pooled HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.53, 0.89, P = 0.004). Sensitivity analyses illustrated the results were stable, and publication bias was identified in ORR. Subgroup analyses showed the predictive value of TMB was significant in non-small-cell lung cancer (except for the OS) and melanoma. In addition, heterogeneity was substantial in targeted next generation sequencing group but tiny in whole exome sequencing group. Furthermore, TMB and PD-L1 expression were capable to predict improved ORR of ICIs after stratification of each other, with tiny heterogeneity. Conclusions: High tumor mutation burden predicted improved efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancers, and targeted next generation sequencing for estimating tumor mutation burden in clinic should be standardized to eliminate heterogeneity in the future. Moreover, tumor mutation burden and programmed cell death ligand 1 expression were independent factors on predicting efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors.