Comparison of Efficacy and Safety Between Immunotherapy and Docetaxel Monotherapy in NSCLC Patients

Meta analysis was used to compare the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitor and docetaxel in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

CNKI, CBM, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, web of science and other databases were searched by computer, and the randomized controlled trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors and docetaxel in the treatment of NSCLC published as of February 2022 were collected. Two researchers searched independently, screened the literature and extracted the data according to the nanodischarge criteria, and used Revman5.4. The included studies were statistically analyzed, and publication bias was analyzed with Egger test in Stata12.

A total of 8 RCTs were included, including 2444 cases treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and 2097 cases treated with docetaxel. Compared with docetaxel, the overall survival (HR = 1.40, 95%CI: 1.30-1.50, P < 0.00001) and progression free survival (HR = 1.22, 95%CI: 1.13-1.32, P < 0.00001) of NSCLC treated with ICIs were longer. The risk ratio of any grade of adverse reactions (HR = 0.41, 95%CI: 0.32-0.52, P < 0.00001) and above grade III adverse reactions (HR = 0.27, 95%CI: 0.18-0.41, P < 0.00001) in the treatment of NSCLC with ICIs was lower. There was no publication bias in Egger test.

Compared with docetaxel, immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment can improve the clinical efficacy of NSCLC patients and has a lower incidence of adverse reactions. This treatment may be a promising treatment for NSCLC patients.