The Efficacy and Safety of Multi-Kinase Inhibitors in Adrenocortical Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Single-Arm Meta-Analysis.

Background: Advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) remains a challenging malignancy with limited therapeutic options. Multi-kinase inhibitors (MKIs), either alone or in combination with immuno-oncology (IO) agents, have been investigated in recent single-arm clinical trials and retrospective series. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis of studies evaluating MKIs in advanced ACC. Objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were pooled using random-effects models for single-arm proportions. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were summarized descriptively due to limited variance data. Subgroup analyses compared MKI monotherapy versus MKI + IO combinations, and meta-regression was performed to assess the impact of prior mitotane exposure. Results: Eleven studies (n = 208 patients) were included. The pooled ORR was 21% (95%CI, 11-36%), and the DCR was approximately 57%. Subgroup analysis revealed a higher ORR with MKI + IO regimens (26%; 95%CI, 12-48%) compared to MKI monotherapy (15%; 95%CI, 3-47%). Median OS ranged from 5.4 to 30.6 months, and PFS from 2.8 to 13.3 months, both favouring MKI + IO combinations. Meta-regression identified prior mitotane exposure as a significant predictor of ORR (p = 0.0279), particularly within the MKI + IO subgroup. Conclusions: MKI-based regimens, especially when combined with IO, demonstrate promising efficacy in advanced ACC, a disease with few established second-line options. While limited by the non-comparative design of available studies, these findings support further investigation in prospective, randomized clinical trials.