Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41194930›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2025

The impact of β-blockers on outcomes of immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy in advanced lung cancer: a multicenter real-world study.

Lingdan Chang, Haitian Zhang, Yunxia Li, Jilan Yang, Ya Li, Guangming Wang, Jinsong Zhang, Hongjin Shi, Bing Hai

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets in lung cancer-nerve crosstalk.Chinese medical journal pulmonary and critical care medicine · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
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

9 authors.

Lingdan Chang *Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Haitian Zhang *Department of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UCSI University, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Yunxia LiDepartment of Medical Oncology III, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Jilan YangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Ya LiDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Yanan Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Guangming WangSchool of Information Science & Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
Jinsong ZhangDepartment of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Hongjin ShiDepartment of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Bing HaiDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved outcomes in advanced lung cancer. β-adrenergic signaling may promote tumor initiation and progression, and β-blockers (BBs) have emerged as anti-tumor sensitizing agents. This study evaluates the impact of BBs use during ICIs treatment in advanced lung cancer. Methods: This multicenter retrospective real-world study included 462 patients treated with ICIs from June 2019 to December 2024. Patients were divided into BBs and No BBs groups. Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS); efficacy evaluation and objective response rate (ORR) were secondary. Propensity score matching (PSM) balances baseline characteristics. Kaplan-Meier method, Cox, and logistic regression models were used for survival and multivariate analyses. Subgroup analyses assessed clinical factors. A P value < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results: After PSM, 318 patients were included (88 BBs, 230 No BBs). BBs use was associated with longer median PFS (mPFS) (15.8 vs. 11.8 months; HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.49-0.92, P = 0.038) and higher ORR (51.1% vs. 35.2%, P = 0.014), but not improved median OS (mOS) (29.0 vs. 31.5 months; HR = 1.38, 95% CI: 0.93-2.03, P = 0.108). BBs use independently predicted improved ORR (OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.26-0.78, P = 0.004) and longer PFS (HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.49-0.92, P = 0.014). In patients with cardiovascular comorbidities (CVD), BBs use was linked to longer mPFS (15.8 vs. 10.9 months, P = 0.0066) and higher ORR(51.1% vs 27.0%, P<0.001), with no mOS difference (P = 0.82). Among non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, mPFS (17.5 vs. 12.3 months, P = 0.04) and ORR (56.0% vs 35.9%, P = 0.004) were also improved in the BBs group, whereas OS did not differ significantly (P = 0.3). Conclusion: In stage-advanced lung cancer, BBs combined with ICIs were associated with improved ORR and prolonged PFS, but did not significantly improve OS. PFS and ORR benefits were also observed in patients with CVD or NSCLC. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and clarify whether BBs directly contribute to ICIs' efficacy.

Indexed as

Adrenergic beta-AntagonistsCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsLung NeoplasmsAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeAdrenergic beta-AntagonistsImmune Checkpoint Inhibitorsimmune checkpoint inhibitorsimmunotherapylung cancerβ-adrenergic signalingβ-blockers

Identifiers

PMID41194930
PMCPMC12583203

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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.