Purpose: We designed the study to illustrate the OR of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) or ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor-related diarrhea in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
Method: This systematic review and meta-analysis were put into practice according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Incidence of all grades for PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor-related diarrhea in NSCLC was taken into account.
Results: After screening and eligibility assessment of 57 articles, a total of 12 clinical trials involving 6,659 participants were collected for the final meta-analysis. The incidence risk of diarrhea for all grades was lower in PD-1 inhibitor monotherapy compared to monochemotherapy of docetaxel (OR=0.31, 95% CI [0.24, 0.41]; I^2,=0%, Z=8.23 (p <0.00001)), while a similar result could also be seen in PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy group (OR=0.41, 95% CI [0.27, 0.64]; I^2,=59%, Z=3.92 [p <0.00001]). The opposite result can be seen when PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor combined chemotherapy was compared to chemotherapy alone (OR=1.51, 95% CI [1.22, 1.87]; I^2,=0%, Z=3.77 [p <0.00001]). Similar incidence trend could also be seen in the meta-analysis of diarrhea for grade 1–2 and grade 3–5.
Conclusion: The incidence risk of diarrhea associated with PD-1/-PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy was significantly lower than that of docetaxel monotherapy group. However it was higher in PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor combined with chemotherapy group compared with the chemotherapy alone group.
Keywords: diarrhea, PD-1/PD-L1, NSCLC, meta-analysis