Background: The prognostic significance of systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) for cancer patients receiving programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is widely investigated, whereas results are conflicting. We therefore performed the present meta-analysis to analyze SIRI’s precise significance in predicting prognosis of cancer patients receiving ICIs treatment.
Methods: This meta-analysis was performed in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively searched between inception and April 25, 2024. SIRI was analyzed for its prognostic significance for patients receiving ICIs treatment by calculating combined hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: There were altogether six studies with 1133 patients enrolled into the present work. As shown by combined data, the higher SIRI was significantly related to poor overall survival (OS) (HR=1.96, 95%CI=1.55-2.47, p<0.001) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR=1.41, 95%CI=1.19-1.67, p<0.001) for patients receiving PD-1/PD-L1 ICIs. As revealed by subgroup analysis, SIRI was markedly associated with dismal OS and PFS, independent of sample size, cut-off value and survival analysis (p<0.05). The findings were verified to be robust upon publication bias test and sensitivity analysis.
Conclusion: In summary, the elevated SIRI was significantly related to the OS and PFS for cancer patients receiving PD-1/PD-L1 ICIs treatment. SIRI is the candidate indicator used to predict prognosis of patients receiving ICIs.