Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42577372›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2026

Clinical outcomes of intrathecal anti-PD-1 therapy with or without whole-brain radiotherapy in melanoma leptomeningeal metastasis: a multicenter retrospective study.

Junjie Zhen, Rongcheng Zhang, Dandan Li, Ya Ding, Xizhi Wen, Yanying Yang, Hui Wang, Mingyao Lai, Xiaoshi Zhang, Linbo Cai and 1 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Junjie Zhen *Department of Oncology, Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Rongcheng Zhang *State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
Dandan LiState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
Ya DingState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
Xizhi WenState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
Yanying YangDepartment of Oncology, Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Hui WangDepartment of Oncology, Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Mingyao LaiDepartment of Oncology, Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaoshi ZhangState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
Linbo CaiDepartment of Oncology, Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Jingjing LiState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Leptomeningeal metastases (LM) from melanoma are rare and associated with dismal outcomes. Intrathecal PD-1 antibody therapy has shown encouraging activity in LM. Radiotherapy may enhance tumor immunogenicity and potentially augment immune checkpoint blockade within the central nervous system. The efficacy and safety of combining intrathecal PD-1 antibodies with whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in melanoma LM remain unclear. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed melanoma patients with LM who received intrathecal PD-1 antibody therapy between June 2022 and December 2024. Patients were categorized according to whether WBRT was administered within 30 days of intrathecal PD-1 antibody therapy: intrathecal monotherapy and combination therapy. Overall survival (OS) and intracranial progression-free survival (iPFS) were descriptively evaluated by treatment exposure, with between-group analyses considered exploratory and hypothesis-generating. Adverse events were graded using CTCAE v5.0. Results: 20 patients were included, of whom 7 received intrathecal PD-1 antibody monotherapy and 13 received intrathecal PD-1 antibody therapy combined with WBRT. The observed median OS was 20.1 weeks (95% CI, 13.3-not reached) in the intrathecal monotherapy group and 45.3 weeks (95% CI, 28.7-not reached) in the combination group. The observed median iPFS was 10.0 weeks (95% CI, 6.1-not reached) and 23.0 weeks (95% CI, 18.4-not reached), respectively. Treatment-related adverse events were manageable, and no new safety signals were identified. Conclusion: Intrathecal PD-1 antibody therapy combined with WBRT showed numerically longer OS and iPFS than intrathecal therapy alone in this small retrospective descriptive series of melanoma leptomeningeal metastasis. These hypothesis-generating findings warrant prospective investigation but do not establish comparative efficacy.

Indexed as

Cranial IrradiationImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsMelanomaMeningeal NeoplasmsProgrammed Cell Death 1 ReceptorAdultAgedCombined Modality TherapyFemaleHumansInjections, SpinalMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsPDCD1 protein, humanProgrammed Cell Death 1 Receptoranti-PD-1 antibodyintrathecal therapyleptomeningeal metastasesmelanomawhole-brain radiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID42577372
PMCPMC13454150

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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.