%0 Journal Article %T Effect of Sex on the Oncological Outcomes in Response to Immunotherapy and Antibody-drug Conjugates in Patients with Urothelial and Kidney Cancer: A Systematic Review and a Network Meta-analysis. %A Cerrato C %A Crocerossa F %A Marchioni M %A Giannarini G %A Gupta S %A Albiges L %A Brouwer O %A Albersen M %A Fankhauser C %A Grimm MO %A Gandaglia G %A Roupret M %A Mir MC %A %J Eur Urol Oncol %V 0 %N 0 %D 2024 Apr 20 %M 38644155 %F 8.208 %R 10.1016/j.euo.2024.03.014 %X OBJECTIVE: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) herald a transformative era in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) treatment, amid acknowledged sex-based disparities in these cancers. We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to identify sex-specific differences in the efficacy of ICI/ADC monotherapy or combination therapies for RCC and TCC survival, in metastatic and adjuvant settings.
METHODS: A systematic search was conducted up to October 2023 for English articles on ICIs and ADCs as systemic therapies (ICIs in first-line and adjuvant treatment for RCC, ICIs and ADCs in first- and second-line treatment for TCC). Randomised clinical trials were considered. The primary objective was overall survival (OS) of ICIs and ADCs between males and females. The secondary outcomes included progression-free survival, overall response rate, disease-free survival, and recurrence-free survival. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by sex via odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals compared with controls. Log ORs were used for creating a frequentist NMA. This meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023468632).
UNASSIGNED: Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Females had an advantage for RCC-adjuvant treatment for atezolizumab (log OR [SE] = -0.57 ± 0.25, p = 0.024) in OS. Males showed a survival advantage in TCC second-line treatment for ADC-Nectin 4 (log OR [SE] = 0.65 ± 0.28, p = 0.02). No other significant results were shown.
CONCLUSIONS: The NMA revealed gender-specific variations in ICI and ADC responses for RCC and TCC, offering insights for personalised cancer care and addressing disparities in cancer care and outcomes.
RESULTS: In this systematic review, we looked at the sex differences for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) for antibody-drug conjugates and immune checkpoint inhibitors. In our analysis, female and male sex has better overall survival for adjuvant and second-line therapies for RCC and TCC, respectively. Urgent research on gender-specific cancer therapies is imperative.