Patients with lung cancer undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitors: A meta-analysis of dermatological toxicities

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are affirming as standard care for advanced lung cancer treatment. Despite their proved efficacy, alone or in combination, they are capable to provoke several cutaneous immune-mediated adverse events. This systematic review aimed to determine the prevalence of cutaneous toxicity in patients with lung cancer undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitors alone, combined, or associated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. The searches were performed in CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, LILACS, LILIVO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. We included both clinical trials and observational studies that described cutaneous toxicities presented by patients during treatment with immunological checkpoint inhibitors. The final sample consisted of 24 studies in which 9127 patients were evaluated. In included studies, the drug under consideration were ipilimumab, pembrolizumab nivolumab, and atezolizumab, at different dosages. The most prevalent dermatological toxicities were alopecia (27%), pruritus, and rash (10%). Remarkably, the prevalent severity was graded 1−2 for both alopecia, pruritus and rash.