Purpose: We conducted this study to determine the relationship between PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and the incidence risk of peripheral neuropathy in patients with solid tumors. Method: The process of the meta-analysis was performed by us according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Incidence of all-grade and grade 3-5 treatment-related peripheral neuropathy in patients with solid tumors were taken into account. Results: After screening and eligibility assessment, a total of 17 clinical trials involving 10,500 patients were selected for the final meta-analysis. The incidence risk of peripheral neuropathy for all grade was significantly lower in the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor group than that of the control group, either monotherapy (OR = 0.08, 95%CI:[0.03, 0.19]) or chemotherapy (OR = 0.05, 95%CI:[0.03, 0.11]). Similar incidence trend could also be seen for the incidence risk of grade 3-5 peripheral neuropathy. When PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors were used in combination with chemotherapy, the incidence risk of peripheral neuropathy was higher than in the control chemotherapy group, whether it was all-grade (OR = 1.22, 95%CI:[1.00, 1.49]) or grade 3-5 degree (OR = 1.74, 95%CI:[1.03, 2.92]). Conclusion: Compared with chemotherapy, incidence risk of peripheral neuropathy related to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor was significantly lower than that of the chemotherapy group, while PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor increased the incidence risk of peripheral neuropathy when it was combined with chemotherapy.
Keywords: PD-1/PD-L1; incidence risk; meta-analysis; peripheral neuropathy; solid tumor.