Fabio Conforti, at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, has analysed over 7133 studies on PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors (immunotherapy drugs like Keytruda and Nivolumab) and shown that in the 20 most relevant (where patients’ sex was included), PD-1 immunotherapy seems twice as effective in men as it does in women(1).
In the meta-study (in the Lancet Oncology) researchers ended up analysing ipilimumab, tremelimumab, nivolumab and pembrolizumab and 11351 patients with advanced or metastatic cancers.
Chris Woollams, former Oxford University Biochemist and a founder of CANCERactive said, “We know that the immune systems of men and women are pretty much identical, so something to do with hormones is probably going on here. It is really a very disappointing study for women. However, we do know that levels of vitamin D and even increasing probiotic intake can make these drugs perform better. Maybe it is time to rethink how clinical trials are done, and make them more relevant to how the drugs are used in real life, as with these studies.”
Go to: Comprehensive overview on Immunotherapy