Table 1.
Description of characteristics of included studies
| References | Country | Design | Number participants | Median age (years) | Male/female ratio | Tumours | ICIs | Doses | Median follow-up time | BMI | Type IrAEs | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortellini et al. [20] | Italy | ObR | 976 | 68 (24–92) | 663 (67.9%)/313(32.1%) | NSCLC (635), melanoma (183), RCC (135) and others (23) | Pembrolizumab, nivolumab or atezolizumab | – | – | U: 40 (4.1%). N: 452 (46.3%). Ov: 377 (38.6%). O: 107 (11%) | Endocrine (including thyroid disorders), gastrointestinal (excluding pancreatitis), skin, pneumological, hepatic, rheumatologic and others (including neuromuscular, pancreatitis, fever, asthenia and anorexia) | ORR, TTF, PFS and OS |
| Daly et al. [21] | Ireland | ObR | 84 | 54 (43–66) | 52 (62%)/32 (38%) | 79% patients had stage M1c metastatic disease, with the most common metastatic sites being lung (70%) and liver (41%) | Ipilimumab | 3 mg kg body weight over a 90-min period every 3 weeks for four doses | – | U: 2 (2%). N: 23 (28%). Ov: 38 (45%). O: 21 (25%) | Dermatologic/skin: pruritus, rash; gastrointestinal: diarrhoea, colitis; endocrine: hypothyroidism, hypopituitarism, hypophysitis; adrenal insufficiency; abnormal hepatic function; musculoskeletal: arthritis; other | BC and OS |
| Eun et al. [22] | South Korea | ObR | 392 | 59.7 (18–95) | 63.2%/36.8% | Lung cancer: 212 (54.1%), melanoma: 74 (18.9%), lymphoma: 53 (13.5%), others (gastric cancer, urothelial cancer among others): 53 (13.5%) | Pembrolizumab | median dose per cycle was 167 mg (100–240 mg), and the median number of cycles was 2 (1–36) | 48 days (1–794 days) | U*: 43. N*: 172. Ov*: 92. O*: 84 | Dermatologic: pruritus, rash, vitiligo; musculoskeletal: myalgia, myositis, myasthenia gravis, arthralgia, arthritis; pulmonary; endocrinopathy; gastrointestinal: diarrhoea, enterocolitis; hepatic; dry mouth | BC |
| Hirsch et al. [19] | France | ObP | 87 | 64.6 (56.3–69.8) | 58 (63%)/34 (37%) | Lung cancer, RCC, melanoma, others | Nivolumab | 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity | U: 2. N: 52. Ov: 25. O:13 | Respiratory: pneumonitis; gastrointestinal: colitis; musculoskeletal: arthralgia and myositis; acute renal failure; endocrine disorders: hypophysitis and diabetic ketoacidosis; other | SRT and BC | |
| Leiter et al. [23] | USA | ObR | 398 | 65.8 (12.55) | 151 (38%)/247 (62%) | Melanoma (19.6%), NSCLC (23.7%), HCC (14.6%), and urothelial carcinoma (12.3%) | Anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-1/PD-L1 or combination anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 | – | 8.7 months | U and N: 201 (50.5%). Ov and O: 197 (49.5%) | – | BC |
BC body composition and risk of toxicity, BMI body mass index, HCC hepatocellular carcinoma, ICIs immune checkpoint inhibitors, irAEs immune-related adverse effects, N normal, NSCLC non-small cell lung carcinoma, O obesity, ObP observational prospective, ObR observational retrospective, ORR objective response rate, Ov overweight, PFS progression-free survival, OS overall survival, RCC renal cell carcinoma, RF risk factors associated with irAEs, SRT sarcopenia and risk of toxicity, TTF time to treatment failure, U underweight
*Of note, in the study by Eun [21], BMI was categorized based on the classification of weight by WHO in adult Asians: underweight, BMI < 18.5 kg/m2; normal, 18.5 ≤ BMI < 23; overweight, 23 ≤ BMI < 25; obese, BMI ≥ 25