Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33488783›Full record

ArticleTherapeutic advances in medical oncology2020

Immune-checkpoint inhibitor plus chemotherapy

Zhe Jin, Bin Zhang, Lu Zhang, Wenhui Huang, Xiaokai Mo, Qiuyin Chen, Fei Wang, Zhuozhi Chen, Minmin Li, Shuixing Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Therapeutic advances in medical oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Gene therapy for uveal melanoma.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
  3. CDK4/6 Inhibitor Priming Enhances PD-1 Blockade via SellAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Zhe JinThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Bin ZhangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Lu ZhangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Wenhui HuangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaokai MoThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Qiuyin ChenThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Fei WangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhuozhi ChenThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Minmin LiThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Shuixing ZhangThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, No. 613, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510630, PR China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7377-382X
First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMultiple therapies including immune-checkpoint inhibitors are emerging as effective treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSSC). However, the optimal first-line and second-line treatments remains controversial.

methodsWe systematically searched databases and conducted a systematic review of phase II/III randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared two or more treatments for R/M HNSSC. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and adverse events (AEs) ⩾3 with hazard ratios (HRs) were extracted and synthesized based on a frequentist network meta-analysis.

resultsTwenty-six trials involving 8908 patients were included. Of first-line treatments, pembrolizumab plus cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil is associated with significantly improved OS (P-score = 0.91) and TPEx ranked first for prolonging PFS (0.91). EXTREME plus docetaxel (0.18) ranked lowest for AEs ⩾3. Of second-line treatments, nivolumab was the highest-ranked treatment for prolonging OS (0.95), while buparlisib plus paclitaxel was the highest-ranked treatment for PFS (0.94). Subgroup analyses suggested that nivolumab was significantly associated with improvement of OS in patients with high PD-L1 expression (HR 0.55, 0.43-0.70), whereas its OS benefit is similar with conventional chemotherapy for those with low PD-L1 expression. Buparlisib plus paclitaxel showed the best OS benefit in subgroups of patients with HPV-negative status, and with oral cavity or larynx as primary tumor sites.

conclusionsPembrolizumab plus cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil is likely to be the best first-line treatment when OS is a priority. Otherwise, TPEx should be the optimal first-line option due to its superior PFS prolongation efficacy, best safety profile, and similar OS benefit with pembrolizumab plus cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil. Nivolumab appears to be the best second-line option with best OS prolongation efficacy and outstanding safety profile in the overall population. Future RCTs with meticulous grouping of patients and detailed reporting are urgently needed for individualized treatment.

Indexed as

chemotherapyimmune-checkpoint inhibitornetwork meta-analysisrecurrent or metastatic head and neck carcinoma

Identifiers

PMID33488783
PMCPMC7768319
OpenAlexW3116216573

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.