Despite that immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) had tremendous improved the survival of multiple solid tumors, only a limited proportion of patients are responsive to ICIs. Therefore, effective variables are urgently needed to predict the probability of response to ICIs. Systematic searches were conducted from inception up to May, 2020. Prospective or retrospective studies of ICIs that investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) and survival outcomes, including overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free survival (PFS), were selected. The association between each BMI category and survival outcomes was calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models and quantified as hazard ratio (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval. Seven clinical studies involving data from 3768 individual patients were included. The median OS was 15.5 months (95% confidence interval: 14.7–16.2 mo) and the median PFS was 5.7 months (5.2–6.3 mo). The median OS was significantly longer in overweight/obese patients than in nonoverweight patients (20.7 vs. 11.3 mo; P<0.001). The difference in OS between overweight and obese patients was not statistically significant (HR: 1.14, P=0.098). Similar results were observed for PFS outcomes. Subgroup analysis demonstrated improved OS in overweight/obese patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (HR: 0.81, P=0.002), melanoma (HR: 0.66, P<0.001), renal cell carcinoma (HR: 0.53, P<0.001), and multiple cancer type (HR: 0.34, P<0.001), with parallel results noted regarding PFS outcomes. Results of the present study suggested that BMI may be a satisfactory prognostic factor for patients treated with ICIs.

Background: Recently, many studies have explored the relationship between the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and prognosis in gastric cancer, but there is still controversy. Additionally, few studies have specifically investigated the expression of PD-L1 in patients with peritoneal metastasis. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the expression of PD-L1 in gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis. The combined positive score (CPS) was calculated to evaluate the expression of PD-L1, and the clinicopathological data were analyzed to explore prognostic significance. Results: In total, 147 gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis were enrolled. The negative PD-L1 expression was defined as a CPS < 1, and high PD-L1 expression was defined as a CPS ≥ 10. PD-L1 expression with CPS ≥ 1 and CPS-negative was detected in 67 (45.58%) and 80 (54.42%) patients, respectively. High PD-L1 expression at PD-L1 CPS ≥ 10 was detected in 21(14.29%) patients. The median overall survival (OS) was 18.53 months in the CPS < 10 group and 27.00 months in the CPS ≥ 10 group; the OS difference between the two groups was significant (p = 0.015). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that a poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score (ECOG PS) (p = 0.002) and severe peritoneal metastasis (p = 0.033) were significantly associated with poor survival, while palliative chemotherapy (p = 0.002) and high PD-L1 expression (p = 0.008) were independent and significantly favorable prognostic factors. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that PD-L1 expression was widely presented in gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis, while a CPS no less than 10 predicted better prognosis.

Objective: To compare the inhibition of LAG3-PD1 versus the inhibition of CTLA-4-PD1 in patients with previously untreated advanced melanoma. Methods: The individual participant data (IPD) were extracted from the KM plots using a graphical reconstructive algorithm. Log-rank, Cox proportional hazard model, Bayesian hierarchical model with time-varying hazard ratio (HR) effect, and restricted mean survival time (RMST) were performed to estimate survival benefits. Results: The CheckMate-067 (n = 630) and RELATIVITY-047 (n = 714) trials were included for analysis. The graphical reconstructive algorithm showed that IPD had similar HRs and log-rank values as the original plots. The HR of nivolumab plus relatlimab (LAG3 inhibitor) versus nivolumab plus ipilimumab (CTLA4 inhibitor) was 1.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96 to1.48). The 24-months RMST of nivolumab plus relatlimab versus nivolumab was 2.35 (95% CI 0.77–3.94) months, compared with 1.87 (95% CI, 0.25–3.49) months for nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus nivolumab. The Bayesian hierarchical model showed that patients treated with nivolumab plus relatlimab had earlier PFS benefits than those with nivolumab plus ipilimumab. Grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 18.9% of patients using nivolumab plus relatlimab and 55.0% of patients using nivolumab plus ipilimumab. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the PFS of LAG3-PD1 and CTLA4-PD1 inhibition were similar and LAG3-PD1 inhibition exhibited earlier survival benefit and lesser TRAEs.

Cellular senescence, a state of permanent arrest of the cell cycle in response to various damage, exerts dual impact on tumor initiation and progression an