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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Cancers
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1409132

The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the first line treatment for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials

Provisionally accepted
Elsa Vitale Elsa Vitale 1Alessandro Rizzo Alessandro Rizzo 2*Lorenza Maistrello Lorenza Maistrello 3Patrizia Nardulli Patrizia Nardulli 2*Tiziana Talienti Tiziana Talienti 2*Davide Quaresmini Davide Quaresmini 2*Simona De Summa Simona De Summa 2Raffaella Massafra Raffaella Massafra 2Nicola Silvestris Nicola Silvestris 4*Oronzo Brunetti Oronzo Brunetti 2*
  • 1 Scientific Directorate, IRCCS Istituto Tumori “Giovanni Paolo II” Bari, Italy, Department of Mental Health, Bari Local Health Authority, Bari, Italy
  • 2 IRCCS Istituto Tumori 'Giovanni Paolo II', Bari, Italy, Bari, Italy
  • 3 San Camillo Hospital (IRCCS), Venice, Veneto, Italy
  • 4 University of Messina, Messina, Sicilia, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to further explore the impact of the addition of immunotherapy to gemcitabine -cisplatin as first-line treatment for advanced BTC patients.Methods: Literature research was performed, Hazard Ratio values and their 95% confidence intervals were pull out. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the tau-squared estimator (𝜏 ). The total Cochrane Q test (Q) was also assessed. We assessed the overall survival rate, objective response rate and the progression-free survival in the selected studies.Results: 1,754 participants were included. Heterogeneity among the studies selected was found to be non-significant (P=0.78; tau 2 =0, I 2 = 0%). The model estimation results, and the Forest Plot suggested that the test for the overall effect were significant (Z=-3.51; P<0.01).The results of the current meta-analysis further confirm the role of immunecheckpoint inhibitors plus gemcitabine -cisplatin as the new standard first-line treatment for advanced BTC patients.

    Keywords: Cholangiocarcinoma, Biliary tract cancer, durvalumab, Immunotherapy, Pembrolizumab, immune checkpoint inhibitors

    Received: 19 Apr 2024; Accepted: 26 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Vitale, Rizzo, Maistrello, Nardulli, Talienti, Quaresmini, De Summa, Massafra, Silvestris and Brunetti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Alessandro Rizzo, IRCCS Istituto Tumori 'Giovanni Paolo II', Bari, Italy, Bari, Italy
    Patrizia Nardulli, IRCCS Istituto Tumori 'Giovanni Paolo II', Bari, Italy, Bari, Italy
    Tiziana Talienti, IRCCS Istituto Tumori 'Giovanni Paolo II', Bari, Italy, Bari, Italy
    Davide Quaresmini, IRCCS Istituto Tumori 'Giovanni Paolo II', Bari, Italy, Bari, Italy
    Nicola Silvestris, University of Messina, Messina, 98122, Sicilia, Italy
    Oronzo Brunetti, IRCCS Istituto Tumori 'Giovanni Paolo II', Bari, Italy, Bari, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.