Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34589956›Full record

ArticleJTO clinical and research reports2020

Retrospective Evaluation of the Use of Pembrolizumab in Malignant Mesothelioma in a Real-World Australian Population.

Tamkin Ahmadzada, Wendy A Cooper, Mikaela Holmes, Annabelle Mahar, Helen Westman, Anthony J Gill, Ina Nordman, Po Yee Yip, Abhijit Pal, Rob Zielinski and 13 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in JTO clinical and research reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
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  5. Review
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  7. Review
  8. Correlation of Histologic Features with Gene Alterations in Pleural Mesothelioma.Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Diffuse Pleural Mesotheliomas with Genomic Near-Haploidization: A Newly Recognized Subset with Distinct Clinical, Histologic, and Molecular Features.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2024
    Article
  11. Article
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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

23 authors at 12 institutions in 3 countries.

Tamkin AhmadzadaSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Wendy A CooperSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Mikaela HolmesTissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology, New South Wales Health Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Annabelle MaharTissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology, New South Wales Health Pathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Helen WestmanNorthern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Anthony J GillSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ina NordmanDepartment of Medical Oncology, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Po Yee YipDepartment of Medical Oncology, Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia.
Abhijit PalSchool of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Rob ZielinskiCentral West Cancer Care Centre, Orange Base Hospital, Orange, New South Wales, Australia.
Nick PavlakisNorthern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Adnan NagrialSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Dariush DaneshvarSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Daniel BrungsIllawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Deme KarikiosSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Vesna AleksovaAsbestos Diseases Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Juliet BurnAnatomical Pathology, Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Rebecca AsherNational Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Centre, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Georges E GrauSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Elham Hosseini-BeheshtiSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Glen ReidDepartment of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Stephen ClarkeSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Steven KaoSydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The University of Sydney · AUAsbestos Diseases Research Institute · AURoyal North Shore Hospital · AURoyal Prince Alfred Hospital · AUWestern Sydney University · AUDouglass Hanly Moir Pathology · AUNational Health and Medical Research Council · AURoyal Marsden Hospital · GBUniversity of Newcastle Australia · AUUniversity of Otago · NZWestmead Hospital · AUWollongong Hospital · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWe investigated the efficacy and toxicity of pembrolizumab in patients with mesothelioma from a real-world Australian population. We aimed to determine clinical factors and predictive biomarkers that could help select patients who are likely to benefit from pembrolizumab.

methodPatients with mesothelioma who were treated with pembrolizumab as part of the Insurance and Care New South Wales compensation scheme were included. Clinical information was collected retrospectively. Tumor biomarkers such as programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), BAP1, and CD3-positive (CD3+) tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were examined using archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples.

resultsA total of 98 patients were included with a median age of 70 years (range, 46-91 y); 92% were men; 76% had epithelioid subtype; 21% had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0. Pembrolizumab was used as second-line or subsequent-line treatment in 94 patients and as first-line treatment in four patients. The overall response rate was 18%, and the disease control rate was 56%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.8 months (95% confidence interval: 3.6-6.2), and the median overall survival (OS) was 9.5 months (95% confidence interval: 6.6-13.7). Immune-related adverse events occurred in 27% of patients, of which nine (9%) were of grade 3 or higher. In the multivariable analysis, factors independently associated with longer PFS included baseline ECOG status of 0 (median PFS: 12 mo versus 4 mo,

conclusionsImmunotherapy is a reasonable treatment option for patients with mesothelioma. Our results are comparable to other clinical trials investigating pembrolizumab in mesothelioma in terms of response. Good performance status assessment remains the most robust predictor for patient outcomes. CD3+ TILs in the tumor may help select patients that are likely to respond to pembrolizumab, whereas factors such as PD-L1 expression, baseline platelet count, and lack of pretreatment dexamethasone may help predict survival outcomes from pembrolizumab treatment.

Indexed as

BAP1ImmunotherapyMesotheliomaPD-L1PembrolizumabTumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

Identifiers

PMID34589956
PMCPMC8474198
OpenAlexW3042495206

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.