Table 1. The baseline characteristics of the included studies in our systematic review and meta-analysis.
| Study | Registration No. | Cancer type | Median age, years† | Regimes | Line | No. of patients¶ | Follow up, months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CheckMate 017 | NCT01642004 | Advanced squamous NSCLC | 63 [NR] | Nivolumab (3 mg/kg per 2 weeks) or docetaxel (75 mg/m2 per 3 weeks) | >1st line | 272 [22, 250] | NR |
| CheckMate 026 | NCT02041533 | Stage IV or recurrent NSCLC | 63 [32–89]; 65 [29–87] |
Nivolumab (3 mg/kg per 2 weeks) or platinum-based doublet chemotherapy per 3 weeks for up to six cycles | 1st line | 534 [59, 475] | Minimum 13.7 |
| CheckMate 057 | NCT01673867 | Stage IIIB/IV or recurrent nonsquamous NSCLC | 61 [31–84]; 64 [21–85] |
Nivolumab (3 mg/kg per 2 weeks) or docetaxel (75 mg/m2 per 3 weeks) | >1st line | 576 [118, 458] | Minimum 13.2 |
| CheckMate 078 | NCT02613507 | Advanced NSCLC | 60 [27–78]; 60 [38–78] |
Nivolumab (3 mg/kg per 2 weeks) or docetaxel (75 mg/m2 per 3 weeks) | >1st line | 504 [150, 354] | NR |
| CheckMate 227 | NCT02477826 | Stage IV or recurrent NSCLC | 64 [41–87]; 64 [29–80] |
Nivolumab (3 mg/kg per 2 weeks) plus ipilimumab (1 mg/kg per 6 weeks), Nivo (240 mg per 2 weeks) monotherapy, or chemotherapy for patients with PD-L1 >1%; nivolumab (3 mg/kg per 2 weeks) plus Ipilimumab (1 mg/kg per 6 weeks), nivolumab (360 mg per 2 weeks) plus chemotherapy, or chemotherapy for patients with PD-L1 <1% | 1st line | 299 [23, 276] | Minimum 11.2 |
| Govindan R 2017 | NCT01285609 | Stage IV or recurrent squamous NSCLC | 64 [28–84]; 64 [28–85] |
Paclitaxel and carboplatin plus blinded Ipilimumab 10 mg/kg or placebo per 3 weeks on a phased induction schedule for six cycles, with ipilimumab or placebo from cycles 3 to 6 → ipilimumab or placebo maintenance per 12 weeks | 1st line | 749 [83, 656] | Median 12.5/11.8 |
| IMpower130 | NCT02367781 | Stage IV nonsquamous NSCLC | 64 [18–86]; 65 [33–85] |
Atezolizumab (1,200 mg per 3 weeks) + chemotherapy [carboplatin (area under the curve 6 mg/mL per 3 weeks) + nab-paclitaxel (100 mg/m2 per week)] or chemotherapy alone for four or six 3-week cycles | 1st line | 679 [65, 614] | Median 18.5/19.2 |
| JAVELIN Lung 200 | NCT02395172 | Stage IIIB or IV or recurrent NSCLC | 64 [59–70]; 63 [53–69] |
Avelumab (10 mg/kg per 2 weeks) or Docetaxel (75 mg/m2 per 3 weeks) | >1st line | 528 [84, 444] | Median 18.3 |
| KEYNOTE-024 | NCT02142738 | Advanced NSCLC | 64.5 [33–90]; 66 [38–85] |
Pembrolizumab (200 mg per 3 weeks for up to 2 years) or investigator’s choice of platinum-based chemotherapy (four to six cycles) | 1st line | 305 [24, 216] | Median 25.2 |
| KEYNOTE-189 | NCT02578680 | Metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC | 65 [34–84]; 63.5 [34–84] |
Pemetrexed and a platinum-based drug plus either Pembrolizumab (200 mg) or placebo per 3 weeks for 4 cycles → Pemb or placebo | >1st line | 616 [73, 543] | Median 10.5 |
| OAK Study | NCT02008227 | Stage IIIB or IV NSCLC | 64 [33–85] | Atezolizumab (1,200 mg) or docetaxel (75 mg/m2) per 3 weeks | >1st line | 1,225 [208, 1,017] | Median 28 |
| PACIFIC | NCT02125461 | Unresectable, stage III NSCLC | 64 [31–84]; 64 [23–90] |
Durvalumab (10 mg/kg per 2 weeks) or placebo | >1st line | 713 [64, 649] | Median 33.3 |
†, the order is that the age of experimental group followed by the age of control group; ¶, the order in the bracket is that the number of never smokers followed by the number of current/former smokers. NR, not refer; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer.