Cancer investigation
-
Cancer investigation · Feb 2020
Meta AnalysisFatal Adverse Events Associated with Pembrolizumab in Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis.
Background: Pembrolizumab as an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) has emerged as an effective treatment for many cancers. It has unique immune-related adverse events (irAE) and little is known about its risk of fatal adverse events (FAEs). We conducted a meta-analysis of clinical trials to determine the incidence and risk of FAEs with pembrolizumab. ⋯ There was no significant difference in the risk of FAEs when pembrolizumab was compared with chemotherapy with RR = 1.24 (95% CI: 0.8-1.89; p = .31). The most common FAEs were due to infectious complication (26.5%), cardiac toxicity (14.7%) and pneumonitis (13.2%). Conclusions: The risk of FAEs with pembrolizumab may be similar to chemotherapy in cancer patients and may vary with tumor types and its combination with chemotherapy.