Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37029815›Full record

ArticleJournal of cancer research and clinical oncology2023

Effects of immunosuppressive treatment on patient outcomes after immune checkpoint inhibitor-related gastrointestinal toxicity.

Malek Shatila, Weijie Ma, Yantong Cui, Sidra Naz, Anusha S Thomas, Enrico N De Toni, Helga-Paula Török, Najib Ben Khaled, Mehmet Altan, Bryan Schneider and 1 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 21% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Clinical Outcomes of Immunosuppressant Drugs in Patients Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. The Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Journey: From Early Promise to Lasting Impact.Journal of immunotherapy and precision oncology · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. 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

11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Malek Shatila *Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 1466, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Weijie Ma *Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 1466, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Yantong CuiDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 1466, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Sidra NazDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 1466, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Anusha S ThomasDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 1466, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Enrico N De ToniDepartment of Medicine II, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Helga-Paula TörökDepartment of Medicine II, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Najib Ben KhaledDepartment of Medicine II, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Mehmet AltanDepartment of Thoracic Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Bryan SchneiderDepartment of Thoracic Medical Oncology, The University of Michigan, Ann Harbor, MI, USA.
Yinghong WangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 1466, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. ywang59@mdanderson.org.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center · USLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DECornell University · USUniversity of Michigan–Ann Arbor · USWuhan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly used in the treatment of certain cancers but cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Gastrointestinal irAEs may necessitate extended periods of steroid use and the initiation of selective immunosuppressive therapy (SIT) which could theoretically counteract the effect of ICIs. In this study, we aim to explore the impact of immunosuppression use and duration on cancer progression and progression-free survival (PFS).

methodsThis is a single-center retrospective review exploring cancer outcomes in patients taking ICIs who developed gastrointestinal irAEs within 1 year of ICI initiation. Cancer outcome and progression free survival (PFS) were measured and compared by using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.

resultsOf the 116 patients included in this study, 69 received immunosuppression to treat irAEs. The occurrence of colitis and use of immunosuppression for colitis were associated with less cancer progression by later assessment (p < 0.05). Shorter durations of steroids with or without SIT for colitis were associated with less cancer progression within the study window than no immunosuppression (p < 0.05). Immunosuppression has no effect on PFS (p < 0.05).

conclusionOur study reported shorter duration of steroid treatment for colitis may be associated with less cancer progression. Though the use of immunosuppression was not found to impact PFS, this may be confounded by the presence of colitis, which is known to improve cancer outcomes and could mask any negative impact of immunosuppression on survival. It may be preferable to limit long-term immunosuppression in the treatment of immune-mediated colitis to minimize potential complications. Prospective studies are needed to clarify this relationship, and treatments that abrogate the need for immunosuppression in these patients such as fecal microbiota transplantation.

Indexed as

ColitisNeoplasmsHumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunosuppressive AgentsProgression-Free SurvivalRetrospective StudiesImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunosuppressive AgentsCancer outcomeComplicationImmune checkpoint inhibitorImmune-related adverse eventImmunosuppressantSurvival

Identifiers

PMID37029815
PMCPMC11797706
OpenAlexW4362716930

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.