Risk of mTOR inhibitors induced severe pneumonitis in cancer patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to determine the overall risk of noninfectious severe pneumonitis associated with mTOR inhibitors (mTORi) in cancer patients. Materials & methods: PubMed, EMBASE and oncology conference proceedings were searched for relevant studies. Results: A total of 8377 patients from 16 randomized controlled trials were included. The incidence of severe pneumonitis associated with mTORi was 1.7% (95% CI: 1.1-2.5%). The use of mTORi significantly increased the risk of severe pneumonitis compared with controls (odds ratio: 3.36; 95% CI: 2.20-5.12). The analysis was stratified for drug types, tumor types, controlled therapy and mTORi-based regimens, but no significant differences in odds ratios were observed. Conclusion: mTORi significantly increase the risk of severe pneumonitis in cancer patients.