Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a class of antineoplastic therapies that unleash immune cells to kill malignant cells. There are currently 7 medications that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of 14 solid tumors and 2 hematologic malignancies. These medications commonly cause immune-related adverse effects as a result of overactive T lymphocytes, autoantibody production, and/or cytokine dysregulation. Hematologic toxicities are rare and of uncertain mechanism, and therefore management is often based on experiences with familiar conditions involving these perturbed immune responses, such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia, immune thrombocytopenia, and idiopathic aplastic anemia. Management is challenging because one must attend to the hematologic toxicity while simultaneously attending to the malignancy, with the imperative that effective cancer therapy be maintained or minimally interrupted if possible. The purpose of this review is to help clinicians by providing a clinical and pathophysiological framework in which to view these problems.
Project description:Cutaneous immune-related adverse events (cirAEs) are the most prevalent complication to arise from immunotherapy and cause significant morbidity. We aimed to determine the spectrum, timing, clinical features, and outcomes of cirAEs by conducting an observational pharmacovigilance study using VigiBase, the World Health Organization's global database of individual case safety reports from over 130 member countries (ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT04898751). We compared adverse event reporting in patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors (91,323 adverse events) with those of the full reporting database (18,919,358 adverse events). There were 10,933 cases of cirAEs within 51 distinct dermatologic types, with 27 specific eruptions with disproportionate signal represented (information component [IC]025 > 0). Of these 27 eruptions, there were eight cirAEs with n > 100 reports, including vitiligo (IC025 = 4.87), bullous pemphigoid (IC025 = 4.08), lichenoid dermatitis (IC025 = 3.69), erythema multiforme (IC025 = 1.03), toxic epidermal necrolysis (IC025 = 0.95), Stevens‒Johnson syndrome (IC025 = 0.41), drug eruption (IC025 = 0.11), and eczematous dermatitis (IC025 = 0.11). There were differences in time to onset after immune checkpoint inhibitor initiation, with a median of approximately 1 month (erythema multiforme, Stevens‒Johnson syndrome, and toxic epidermal necrolysis), 2 months (drug eruption and eczematous dermatitis), 4 months (lichenoid dermatitis), and 5‒6 months (bullous pemphigoid and vitiligo). CirAEs are diverse, dependent on cancer type, and have distinct and different onset times that are linked to the cirAE subtype.
Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment; however, their oral toxicity profile is not well elucidated. This review aimed to investigate the prevalence of oral toxicities including xerostomia, mucositis/stomatitis, dysgeusia, dysphagia, oral/oropharyngeal pain, oral infections, angular cheilitis, osteonecrosis, osteomyelitis, and oral mucosal reactions with ICIs. A review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023391674). A systematic search of ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted as of April 10, 2022. Studies were selected, assessed, and data extracted using PRISMA guidelines. Oral toxicity data were extracted from study arms using a single immunotherapy drug. Meta-analyses were conducted to summarize prevalence of oral toxicities using random-effects models. Of 750 screened records, 95 trials were included in the meta-analysis with published results. Time between study completion and first publication on ClinicalTrials.gov was 1 to 146 months (mean = 20.3, SD = 18.4). Weighted pooled prevalence was 5% (95% CI: 4-6%) for xerostomia, 3% (95% CI: 3-4%) for mucositis/stomatitis, 3% (95% CI: 2-3%) for dysgeusia, 2% (95% CI: 1-2%) for dysphagia, 3% (95% CI: 2-4%) for oropharyngeal/oral pain, 2% (95% CI: 1-3%) for oral candidiasis, and 2% (95% CI: 0-4%) for angular cheilitis. Subgroup differences based on ICI drugs were minimal. No trials reported lichenoid or pemphigoid mucosal reactions. Meta-analysis results revealed low prevalence of oral toxicities with ICIs; however, data reporting was limited and inconsistent. Limitations of study dataset reveal a significant need for systematic collection of oral morbidity data as well as improved consistency and compliance of reporting results on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Project description:BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have substantially improved clinical outcomes in multiple cancer types and are increasingly being used in early disease settings and in combinations of different immunotherapies. However, ICIs can also cause severe or fatal immune-related adverse-events (irAEs). We aimed to identify and characterise cardiovascular irAEs that are significantly associated with ICIs.MethodsIn this observational, retrospective, pharmacovigilance study, we used VigiBase, WHO's global database of individual case safety reports, to compare cardiovascular adverse event reporting in patients who received ICIs (ICI subgroup) with this reporting in the full database. This study included all cardiovascular irAEs classified by group queries according to the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities, between inception on Nov 14, 1967, and Jan 2, 2018. We evaluated the association between ICIs and cardiovascular adverse events using the reporting odds ratio (ROR) and the information component (IC). IC is an indicator value for disproportionate Bayesian reporting that compares observed and expected values to find associations between drugs and adverse events. IC025 is the lower end of the IC 95% credibility interval, and an IC025 value of more than zero is deemed significant. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03387540.FindingsWe identified 31 321 adverse events reported in patients who received ICIs and 16 343 451 adverse events reported in patients treated with any drugs (full database) in VigiBase. Compared with the full database, ICI treatment was associated with higher reporting of myocarditis (5515 reports for the full database vs 122 for ICIs, ROR 11·21 [95% CI 9·36-13·43]; IC025 3·20), pericardial diseases (12 800 vs 95, 3·80 [3·08-4·62]; IC025 1·63), and vasculitis (33 289 vs 82, 1·56 [1·25-1·94]; IC025 0·03), including temporal arteritis (696 vs 18, 12·99 [8·12-20·77]; IC025 2·59) and polymyalgia rheumatica (1709 vs 16, 5·13 [3·13-8·40]; IC025 1·33). Pericardial diseases were reported more often in patients with lung cancer (49 [56%] of 87 patients), whereas myocarditis (42 [41%] of 103 patients) and vasculitis (42 [60%] of 70 patients) were more commonly reported in patients with melanoma (χ2 test for overall subgroup comparison, p<0·0001). Vision was impaired in five (28%) of 18 patients with temporal arteritis. Cardiovascular irAEs were severe in the majority of cases (>80%), with death occurring in 61 (50%) of 122 myocarditis cases, 20 (21%) of 95 pericardial disease cases, and five (6%) of 82 vasculitis cases (χ2 test for overall comparison between pericardial diseases, myocarditis, and vasculitis, p<0·0001).InterpretationTreatment with ICIs can lead to severe and disabling inflammatory cardiovascular irAEs soon after commencement of therapy. In addition to life-threatening myocarditis, these toxicities include pericardial diseases and temporal arteritis with a risk of blindness. These events should be considered in patient care and in combination clinical trial designs (ie, combinations of different immunotherapies as well as immunotherapies and chemotherapy).FundingThe Cancer Institut Thématique Multi-Organisme of the French National Alliance for Life and Health Sciences (AVIESAN) Plan Cancer 2014-2019; US National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health; the James C. Bradford Jr. Melanoma Fund; and the Melanoma Research Foundation.
Project description:Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common intraocular malignancy in adults and shows a high rate of metastatic spread. As randomized clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have not been performed in patients with metastatic UM, we analyzed the real-world outcomes in a nationwide population-based study. Clinical data of patients with UM were extracted from the Danish Metastatic Melanoma database, a nationwide database containing unselected records of patients diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in Denmark. Survival before (pre-ICI, n = 32) and after (post-ICI, n = 94) the approval of first-line treatment with ICI was analyzed. A partial response to first-line treatment was observed in 7% of patients treated with anti-programmed cell death protein (PD)-1 monotherapy and in 21% with combined anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 plus anti-PD-1 therapy. Median progression-free survival was 2.5 months for patients treated in the pre-ICI era compared to 3.5 months in the post-ICI era (hazard ratio (HR) 0.43; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28-0.67; p < 0.001). The estimated one-year overall survival rate increased from 25.0% to 41.9% and the median overall survival improved from 7.8 months to 10.0 months, respectively (HR 0.52; 95% CI 0.34-0.79; p = 0.003). Thus, the introduction of ICI as first-line treatment appears to have significantly improved the real-world survival of patients with metastatic UM, despite relatively low response rates compared to cutaneous melanoma. With the lack of therapies proven effective in randomized trials, these data support the current treatment with ICI in patients with metastatic UM.
Project description:BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), the treatment of multiple cancer types, can be associated with respiratory system adverse events (AEs). The aim of this study is to quantify the association of respiratory system AEs and ICIs and to characterize the profiles of ICI-related respiratory system complications from Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) data.MethodsThe disproportionality of respiratory system AE-related ICIs based on FAERS data from January 2014 to September 2021 was analyzed using the reporting odds ratio (ROR) and information component (IC) as measures of potential risk increase.ResultsA total of 38,415,849 records were involved; among these, 36,923 records related to respiratory system AEs after ICI treatment were identified. In the first 3 months, the cumulative proportion of respiratory system AEs was 75.40%. Men had a slightly higher reporting frequency than that of women (ROR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.70-1.78). Death cases had a slightly higher reporting frequency in ICI-associated respiratory system AEs than that of other drug-associated respiratory system AEs (ROR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.38-1.41). Anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) drugs and anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) drugs were significantly associated with respiratory system toxicities. However, anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) drugs did not demonstrate an association with respiratory system toxicities. Interstitial lung disease and pneumonitis were found to be significantly associated with all eight types of ICIs. In addition, 7 in 10 class-specific respiratory system AEs (lower respiratory tract disorders, pleural disorders, pulmonary vascular disorders, respiratory disorders not elsewhere classified (NEC), respiratory tract infections, respiratory tract neoplasms, and thoracic disorders) were associated with ICIs. The signal values of IC025 were from 0.08 to 2.66.ConclusionsOverall, this study showed a high reporting frequency of respiratory system toxicities caused by ICIs. Early recognition and management of ICI-related respiratory system AEs are of vital importance in practice. Maximizing the benefit while reducing potential respiratory system toxicities of ICIs should become a priority.
Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have led recent advances in the field of cancer immunotherapy improving overall survival in multiple malignancies with abysmal prognoses prior to their introduction. The remarkable efficacy of ICIs is however limited by their potential for systemic and organ specific immune-related adverse events (irAEs), most of which present with mild to moderate symptoms that can resolve spontaneously, with discontinuation of therapy or glucocorticoid therapy. Cardiac irAEs however are potentially fatal. The understanding of autoimmune cardiotoxicity remains limited due to its rareness. In this paper, we provide an updated review of the literature on the pathologic mechanisms, diagnosis, and management of autoimmune cardiotoxicity resulting from ICIs and their combinations and provide perspective on potential strategies and ongoing research developments to prevent and mitigate their occurrence.
Project description:ObjectivePoly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) have significantly improved clinical effects in gynecological oncology. However, PARPis could also induce severe organ system toxicities, including the hematological system. Our study aimed to extensively characterize the hematological toxicities of PARPis based on the real-world data.MethodsDisproportionality analysis was used to evaluate the association between PARPis and hematotoxicity adverse events. Data were extracted from the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database between January 2015 and September 2021. The characteristics of PARPi-associated hematological toxicities, and the onset time and fatality proportion were further analyzed.ResultsOut of 24,045 adverse events reports, 4088 hematotoxicity reports (17.00%) were analyzed, with a median age of 64.95 (interquartile range [IQR] 51-71) years. All PARPis were detected with positive safety signals of hematological toxicities in four detection methods. Unexpected significant adverse events such as lymphadenopathy, lymphoedema, and metastases to lymph nodes might also occur. The median time-to-onset was 28 (IQR 10-101) days and the fatality proportion of hematological toxicities with PARPis was 8.76%, with a statistical difference in different PARPis.ConclusionHematological toxicities caused by PARPis preferred to occur early and might result in serious outcomes. Early identification and response to the PARPi-related hematological toxicities were important and further basic research were needed to confirm the mechanism of results in this study.
Project description:BackgroundAlthough arrhythmias have been reported in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), the association between arrhythmias and ICIs has not been thoroughly evaluated in real-world studies. We aimed to describe the major features of ICI-related arrhythmic events and identify the factors that contributed to death.MethodsA disproportionality analysis was performed using data from the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database from January 2011 to December 2021. Reporting odds ratios (RORs), proportional reporting ratio and information component were used to assess whether adverse arrhythmic events were associated with ICIs. The clinical characteristics of patients with ICI-associated arrhythmias were compared with fatal and non-fatal arrhythmias. The time to onset (TTO), fatality rates of arrhythmic events were also investigated.ResultsWe identified a total of 1945 cases of ICI-related arrhythmic events. Men (64.78%) were identified significantly more frequently than women (28.84%). The median age was 68 years ([interquartile range, IQR] 60-75 years). Anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and anti-programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) were associated with adverse arrhythmic events, corresponding to ROR 1.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.17) and ROR 1.34 (95% CI 1.20-1.49), respectively. However, anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 or combination immunotherapy did not appear to be associated with arrhythmic events. Atrial fibrillation (N = 576, 0.62%), cardiac arrest (N = 284, 0.31%), tachycardia (N = 175, 0.19%) were the most common adverse arrhythmic events. Sudden death and complete atrioventricular block are adverse events that are significantly associated with ICI-related arrhythmic events and have strong signal intensity. The TTO of cases that resulted in death (30 days [IQR] 11-73.75) was significantly earlier than that of cases that did not result in death (33 days [IQR 10.5-88.5], p = 0.003). ICI-related arrhythmic events were severe with death occurring in 507 (26.07%) of 1945 arrhythmias cases.ConclusionsTreatment with PD-1/PD-L1 may cause arrhythmic events, which are severe and tend to occur early on during treatment. It is important to identify ICI-related arrhythmias as early as possible, and to manage them appropriately.