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. 2022 Apr 19;377:e068714. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2021-068714

Table 3.

Adverse events related to treatment in patients who received sintilimab or placebo in combination with chemotherapy

Sintilimab and chemotherapy (n=327) Placebo and chemotherapy (n=332)
Grades 1-2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grades 1-2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5
Any adverse events related to treatment* 125 (38) 134 (41) 53 (16) 9 (3) 145 (44) 122 (37) 53 (16) 6 (2)
Anaemia 204 (62) 41 (13) 0 0 198 (60) 34 (10) 0 0
Decrease in white blood cell count 153 (47) 44 (13) 13 (4) 0 143 (43) 51 (15) 23 (7) 0
Nausea 146 (45) 7 (2) 0 0 165 (50) 6 (2) 0 0
Vomiting 105 (32) 7 (2) 0 0 106 (32) 5 (2) 0 0
Decrease in neutrophil count 104 (32) 61 (19) 37 (11) 0 89 (27) 73 (22) 39 (12) 0
Alopecia 98 (30) 1 (<1) 0 0 88 (27) 0 0 0
Asthenia 96 (29) 13 (4) 0 0 78 (23) 12 (4) 0 0
Decreased appetite 90 (28) 0 0 0 105 (32) 2 (<1) 1 (<1) 0
Hypoaesthesia 73 (22) 2 (<1) 0 0 49 (15) 0 0 0
Decrease in platelet count 60 (18) 6 (2) 2 (<1) 1 (<1) 73 (22) 6 (2) 3 (<1) 1 (<1)
Decrease in weight 53 (16) 3 (<1) 0 0 55 (17) 0 0 0
Hypothyroidism 48 (15) 0 0 0 28 (8) 1 (<1) 0 0
Rash 45 (14) 4 (1) 1 (<1) 0 14 (4) 0 0 0
Diarrhoea 37 (11) 4 (1) 0 0 27 (8) 2 (<1) 0 0
Increase in alanine aminotransferase 35 (11) 1 (<1) 0 0 16 (5) 1 (<1) 0 0
Hypophagia 33 (10) 0 0 0 24 (7) 1 (<1) 1 (<1) 0
Decrease in lymphocyte count 30 (9) 8 (2) 2 (<1) 0 25 (8) 13 (4) 0 0
Hypokalaemia 22 (7) 14 (4) 2 (<1) 0 25 (8) 5 (2) 1 (<1) 0
Hyponatraemia 17 (5) 3 (<1) 3 (<1) 0 34 (10) 2 (<1) 1 (<1) 0
Abnormal hepatic function 11 (3) 5 (2) 1 (<1) 0 12 (4) 0 0 0
Neurotoxicity 8 (2) 0 0 0 9 (3) 4 (1) 0 0
Immune mediated lung disease 7 (2) 4 (1) 0 3 (<1) 1 (<1) 0 0 0
Increase in blood pressure 5 (2) 10 (3) 0 0 4 (1) 4 (1) 0 0
Pneumonia 2 (<1) 6 (2) 1 (<1) 3 (<1) 6 (2) 1 (<1) 0 3 (<1)
Febrile neutropenia 0 3 (<1) 5 (2) 0 0 4 (1) 2 (<1) 0
Acute kidney injury 0 4 (1) 0 0 1 (<1) 1 (<1) 0 0

Data are number (%).

Chemotherapy regimen is cisplatin plus paclitaxel or cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil.

*

Adverse events related to treatment of grades 1-2 occurring in ≥10% of patients or grades 3-5 occurring in ≥1% of patients are shown. Adverse events related to treatment included any study drug. Patients who died because of adverse events related to treatment had immune mediated lung disease (n=2), immune mediated lung disease and pneumonia (n=1), pneumonitis and pneumonia (n=1), pneumonia, septic shock, and myelosuppression (n=1), arrhythmia (n=1), decrease in platelet count and cerebral haemorrhage (n=1), cardiac failure, respiratory failure, renal failure, and septic shock (n=1), and unknown cause of death (n=1) in the sintilimab-chemotherapy group, and pneumonia (n=3), unknown cause of death (n=2), and immune mediated myositis, immune mediated myocarditis, and decreased platelet count (n=1) in the placebo-chemotherapy group.