ReviewHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2022
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Opioids in Patients with Solid Tumours: Is Their Association Safe? A Systematic Literature Review.
Review in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of cannabis on immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: a systematic review of immunomodulatory effects of cannabis in patients with and without cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Pooled it
- The Relationship Between (Endo)cannabinoids, the Microbiome and Melanoma.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Review
- Concomitant Medication Effects on Immunotherapy Outcomes in Sarcoma: A Pooled Post Hoc Analysis of Seven Phase II Trials.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Association between opioid use and survival in advanced non small cell lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Association of opioid use with survival in patients with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: it is time for evidence-based behaviors.The oncologist · 2025Article
- Novel Strategies for the Treatment of Lung Cancer: An In-depth Analysis of the Use of Immunotherapy, Precision Medicine, and Artificial Intelligence to Improve Prognoses.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Effect of hyperthermia combined with opioids on cancer pain control and surgical stress in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2024Article
- Morphine treatment restricts response to immunotherapy in oral squamous cell carcinoma.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2024Article
- Opioids and Cancer: Current Understanding and Clinical Considerations.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2024Review
- Impact of Opioid Use on Duration of Therapy and Overall Survival for Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2024Article
- Prognostic value of systemic immune-inflammation index/albumin ratio for immunotherapy-treated patients receiving opioids.PloS one · 2024Article
- Effects of Acetaminophen Exposure on Outcomes of Patients Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Article
- The effect of opioids on the efficacy of immunotherapy in recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.Oral oncology · 2023Article
- Cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system in immunotherapy: helpful or harmful?Frontiers in oncology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent one of the most effective treatments for patients with cancer. As their activity relies on host immune system reactivity, the role of concomitant medications such as corticosteroids and antibiotics has been extensively evaluated. Preclinical data suggest that opioids may influence the immune system.
methodsa systematic literature revision was performed using specific keywords on the major search engines. Two authors analysed all the studies and provided a selection of the following inclusion and exclusion criteria, respectively: 1. data collection of patients older than 18 years old affected by solid tumours; 2. description of ICIs efficacy in terms of PFS, OS, TTF, and ORR; 3. concomitant ICIs-opioids treatment and 1. language different from English; 2. not pertinent analyses.
results523 studies were analysed, and 13 were selected and included in our series. A possible negative interaction between oral opioids and ICIs efficacy was observed. Most evidence was retrospective, and studies were heterogeneous.
conclusionsEven if oral opioids seem to impact negatively on ICIs efficacy in cancer patients, to date there is not sufficient evidence to avoid their prescription in this population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.