Table 2.
Overview of included clinical studies
| Author | Type of study | Tumor type | Checkpoint inhibitor(s) | Corticosteroid treatment (dosage) | N of patients (N on steroids) | Outcome(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iorgulescu et al38 | Retrospective cohort | Newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma | PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors | Baseline dexamethasone (N/A) | 181 (64) | ↓ OS (<2 mg/day HR: 2.16; 95% CI: 1.30–3.60 and ≥2 mg/day HR: 1.97; 95% CI: 1.23–3.16) |
| Nayak et al49 | Phase II RCT | Recurrent glioblastoma | Pembrolizumab | Baseline dexamethasone (≤4 mg/day) | 30 (7) | = OS |
| Nayak et al49 | Phase II RCT | Recurrent glioblastoma | Pembrolizumab + bevacizumab | Baseline dexamethasone (≤4 mg/day) | 50 (12) | ↓ OS (HR: 3.27; 95% CI: 1.61–6.65) |
| Reardon et al10 | Phase III RCT | Recurrent glioblastoma | Nivolumab | Baseline corticosteroids (prednisone-equivalent dose ≤10 mg/day) | 184 (73) | ↓ OS (HR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.05–2.69) |
CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; N/A, not available; OS, overall survival; PD-1, programmed cell death protein 1; PD-L1, programmed death-ligand 1; RCT, randomized clinical trial.