Risk of elevated transaminases in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis has been conducted to determine the risk of elevated transaminases associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors use in patients with cancer.

Studies eligible for our analysis included randomized Phase II and III trials of patients with cancer on ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, tremelimumab and pidilizumab, which describe events of elevated transaminases [alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)].

Initial database search revealed 210 relevant citations. After excluding noneligible studies, 10 trials were considered eligible for the quantitative synthesis. The RR of all-grade elevated ALT and AST was 2.36 (95% CI 1.20-4.66; p = 0.01) and 1.53 (95% CI 0.73-3.22; p = 0.26), respectively, whereas for high-grade elevated ALT and AST, it was 11.27 (95% CI 5.38-23.63; p < 0.0001) and 4.9 (95% CI 2.97-8.09; p < 0.0001), respectively.

Our study has shown that the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has a causal relationship to an increased risk of high-grade elevated ALT and AST. Clinicians using these agents should be attentive of this risk.