Indian experience with immunotherapy in sarcoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors: a retrospective study

AIM: To study the role of check point inhibitors (CPI) in sarcoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. MATERIALS & METHODS: Retrospective data of 15 patients diagnosed with advanced sarcoma or gastrointestinal stromal tumors and treated with CPI. RESULTS: 3/14 patients (21.4%) responded to treatment with a disease control rate of 42.8% (6/14). After a median follow-up of 14 months (range: 2–24 months), 11 (73.3%) patients progressed, the median progression-free survival was 4 months (95% CI: 1.7–6.3) and median overall survival was 14 months (95% CI: 2.6–25.7). Only one patient experienced a grade IV adverse event. CONCLUSION: Our data represent the first real-world application of CPI in sarcoma from India. We believe that CPI should be further evaluated in clinical trials.