Immune checkpoint inhibitors in Cancer patients with rheumatologic preexisting autoimmune diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Patients with rheumatologic preexisting autoimmune disease (PAD) have not been enrolled in clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Therefore, the risks and benefits of ICI therapy in such patients are unclear. Herein, we investigated the safety and efficacy of ICIs in rheumatologic PAD patients through a meta-analysis. The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched for additional studies. We analyzed the following data through Stata software: incidence of total irAEs (TirAEs), rate of flares, incidence of new on-set irAEs, rate of discontinuation, objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). We identified 23 articles including 643 patients with rheumatologic PAD. The pooled incidences of TirAEs, flares and new-onset irAEs were 64