Myositis in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors: the ARON-MOUSEION-017 systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Myositis may present as a treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) during immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. In the ARON-MOUSEION-017 meta-analysis, we aimed to assess the frequency of myositis among cancer patients treated with ICIs.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND

METHODS

The present systematic review and meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO with ID no. CRD420261278193. Embase, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were consulted, using Boolean terms and keywords 'Immunotherapy,' 'Myositis' and 'Neoplasms.'

RESULTS

For myositis of any grade, 13 studies were included, suggesting that heterogeneity across studies was high and statistically significant (p < 0.001; τ2 = 3.78; I2 = 95.3%, 95% CI [93.1%; 96.7%]), and the pooled proportion of patients affected by any-grade myositis treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) was 4.2% (95% CI = [1.1%; 14.6%]).

CONCLUSIONS

ICI-myositis often appears in concomitance with other immune-mediated conditions, such as myocarditis and myasthenia gravis. These events are clinically relevant, since they are often associated with more severe disease courses and unfavorable outcomes, increasing morbidity and mortality.