Sleep disturbance as a poor prognostic predictor in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: A prospective study

Background

Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in oncology and often exacerbate symptoms, leading to reduced quality of life, which in turn may further affect the tolerability and efficacy of oncological treatments. Sleep disturbance and cancer have an intimate and complicated relationship, and may be a negative predictor of cancer treatment. The present study aimed to characterize the relationship between sleep disturbance and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Data from 171 patients with advanced NSCLC, who underwent ICI treatment between December 2020 and October 2022, were analysed in our prospective study. Sleep disturbances were evaluated according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), with a cut-off value of 5, to investigate the impact of sleep disturbance on the survival of patients with NSCLC and the efficacy of ICI treatment.

Results

The median progression-free survival (PFS) was10.4 months (9 5% confidence interval [CI]:9.84–10.97). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that sleep disturbance and depressive symptom predicted worse prognosis with shortened PFS. Patients who experienced sleep disturbance exhibited a significant reduction in PFS (9.2 vs. 11.8 months; HR: 1.83 [9 5% CI 1.27–2.6 5]; p = 0.001), as did those with depressive states (HR 1.5 5 [9 5% CI 1.06–2.28]; p = 0.02 5). Additionally, patients with sleep disturbance and depressive symptoms exhibited significantly lower objective response rates and disease control rates.

Conclusion

Sleep disturbance could be a factor for prognosis in patients with advanced NSCLC undergoing first- or second-line treatment with ICIs, including shorter PFS and reduced efficacy.