Neurological immune-related adverse events after ICI treatment: a protocol for an overview of systematic reviews

INTRODUCTION: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become an important treatment option for selected cancer patients in recent years. In this overview of systematic reviews, we aim to present a comprehensive summary of the evidence on neurological immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients treated with ICIs.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The overview will follow the preferred reporting items for overview of reviews statement. All systematic reviews reporting on neurological irAEs in adult patients treated with ICIs will be included. We will search PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane's Database of Systematic Reviews. Two authors will independently screen studies and extract data, with disagreements resolved by discussion or a third reviewer. Methodological quality will be assessed using AMSTAR-2. We will assess overlap by identifying shared primary studies and summarising their frequency in a table. Data will be presented narratively and in tables; when possible, frequencies of neurological irAEs and weighted means, along with associated distributions, will be reported.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: As this study involves secondary analysis of published literature and does not include primary data collection, ethical approval is not required. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD420251020892.