scholarly journals Rheumatic Manifestations and Diseases From Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Cancer Immunotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pan Shen ◽  
Xuan Deng ◽  
Zhishuo Hu ◽  
Zhe Chen ◽  
Yao Huang ◽  
...  

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which can enhance antitumor immunity and inhibit cancer growth, have revolutionized the treatment of multiple cancers and dramatically decreased mortality. However, treatment with ICIs is directly associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs) because of inflammation in off-target organs and autoimmunity resulting from non-specific immune activation. These irAEs can cause rheumatic diseases and manifestations such as inflammatory arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, myositis, vasculitis, Sicca and Sjogen's syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Early diagnosis and treatment of these adverse events will improve outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients. The treatment of rheumatic diseases induced by ICIs requires multidisciplinary cooperation among physicians. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood and it is difficult to predict and evaluate these side effects precisely. In this review, we summarize available studies and findings about rheumatic irAEs, focusing mainly on the clinical manifestations, epidemiology, possible mechanisms, and guiding principles for treating these irAEs.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Melissaropoulos ◽  
Kalliopi Klavdianou ◽  
Alexandra Filippopoulou ◽  
Fotini Kalofonou ◽  
Haralabos Kalofonos ◽  
...  

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are monoclonal antibodies that activate the immune system, aiming at enhancing antitumor immunity. Their clinical efficacy is well-documented, but the side effects associated with their use are still under investigation. These drugs cause several immune-related adverse events (ir-AEs), some of which stand within the field of rheumatology. Herein, we present a literature review performed in an effort to evaluate all publicly available clinical data regarding rheumatic manifestations associated with ICIs. The most common musculoskeletal ir-AEs are inflammatory arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and myositis. Non-musculoskeletal rheumatic manifestations are less frequent, with the most prominent being sicca, vasculitides and sarcoidosis. Cases of systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma are extremely rare. The majority of musculoskeletal ir-AEs are of mild/moderate severity and can be managed with steroids with no need for ICI discontinuation. In severe cases, more intense immunosuppressive therapy and permanent ICI discontinuation may be employed. Oncologists should periodically screen patients receiving ICIs for new-onset inflammatory musculoskeletal complaints and seek a rheumatology consultation in cases of persisting symptoms.


Rheumatology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (Supplement_7) ◽  
pp. vii59-vii67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia C Weinmann ◽  
David S Pisetsky

AbstractImmune checkpoint inhibitors are novel biologic agents to treat cancer by inhibiting the regulatory interactions that limit T cell cytotoxicity to tumours. Current agents target either CTLA-4 or the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. Because checkpoints may also regulate autoreactivity, immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy is complicated by side effects known as immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The aim of this article is to review the mechanisms of these events. irAEs can involve different tissues and include arthritis and other rheumatic manifestations. The frequency of irAEs is related to the checkpoint inhibited, with the combination of agents more toxic. Because of their severity, irAEs can limit therapy and require immunosuppressive treatment. The mechanisms leading to irAEs are likely similar to those promoting anti-tumour responses and involve expansion of the T cell repertoire; furthermore, immune checkpoint inhibitors can affect B cell responses and induce autoantibody production. Better understanding of the mechanisms of irAEs will be important to improve patient outcome as well as quality of life during treatment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 405-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Inno ◽  
Giulio Metro ◽  
Paolo Bironzo ◽  
Antonio M. Grimaldi ◽  
Elisabetta Grego ◽  
...  

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have emerged as an effective treatment for several tumor types and their use in clinical practice is expected to further increase in the immediate future. Although these agents are well tolerated, they are associated with a peculiar spectrum of toxicity, which is immune mediated and may potentially affect every organ. However, immune-related adverse events are mostly reversible if promptly diagnosed and adequately treated. Therefore, it is crucial that medical oncologists know how to diagnose and treat immune-related adverse events. This review focuses on the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and management of immune-related toxicity of anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 antibodies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fusun Gediz ◽  
Senol Kobak

: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are revolutionized drugs for cancer immunotherapy in the last years. The mechanism of action of CPIs including the limitation of the activation of Tcells, and thus enhancing the self-immune response against tumour cells. Checkpointinhibitors( CPIs) may dysregulate the immune system, resulting in some toxicities. These toxicities or side effects are called Immune-related Adverse Events (IRAEs) that can potentially affect any organ and tissue. Rheumatic diseases due to checkpoint inhibitors are also reported in the literature. The spectrum of rheumatic manifestations are quite wide; the most common are arthralgia/arthritis, myalgia/myositis, polimyalgia rheumatica, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome. At the same time, these drugs can also cause an exacerbation of known rheumatologic disease. Treatment approaches for developing rheumatic findings due to checkpoint inhibitors should be multidisciplinary. There should be a close relationship between oncologists who follow-up these patients and rheumatologists. The rheumatic manifestations should be defined and treated early. In general, the musculoskeletal side effects are transient and may regress after stopping CPIs. The most commonly used medications are corticosteroids. Immunosuppressive drugs (HQ, MTX, anti-TNF-alpha, anti-IL-6) should be preferred when treatment is unresponsive or as steroid-sparing agents. : The aim of this review was to evaluate the checkpoint inhibitors-related rheumatologic findings and therapeutic strategies in light of recent literature data.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 785
Author(s):  
Roberta Esposito ◽  
Teresa Fedele ◽  
Silvia Orefice ◽  
Vittoria Cuomo ◽  
Maria Prastaro ◽  
...  

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are monoclonal antibodies that activate the immune system, aiming at enhancing antitumor immunity. ICIs have shown great promise in the treatment of several advanced malignancies. However, therapy with these immunomodulatory antibodies may lead to a wide spectrum of immune-related adverse events in any organ and any tissue. Cardiologic immune-related events include pericarditis, pericardial effusion, various types of arrhythmias including the occurrence of complete atrioventricular block, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and myocarditis. Although relatively rare, myocarditis is associated with a very high reported mortality in comparison to other adverse events. Myocarditis often presents significant diagnostic complexity and may be under-recognized. When confronted with an unexpected change in the clinical picture, the physician must differentiate between immune-related adverse events, cancer worsening, or other causes unrelated to the cancer or its therapy. However, this is not always easy. Therefore, with the increasing use of checkpoint inhibitors in cancer, all providers who care for patients with cancer should be made aware of this rare, but potentially fatal, cardiologic immune-related adverse event, and able to recognize when prompt consultation with a cardiologist specialist is indicated. In this review, we evaluate currently available scientific evidence and discuss clinical manifestations and new potential approaches to the diagnosis and therapy of acute myocarditis induced by ICIs. Temporary or permanent discontinuation of the ICIs and high-dose steroids have been administered to treat myocarditis, but symptoms may worsen in some patients despite therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 135 (5) ◽  
pp. 703-724
Author(s):  
Alan H. Baik ◽  
Katy K. Tsai ◽  
David Y. Oh ◽  
Mandar A. Aras

Abstract Immunotherapies have greatly expanded the armamentarium of cancer-directed therapies in the past decade, allowing the immune system to recognize and fight cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), in particular, have revolutionized cancer treatment and have demonstrated survival benefit in numerous types of cancer. These monoclonal antibodies increase anti-cancer immunity by blocking down-regulators of adaptive immunity, including cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), and its ligand (PD-L1), resulting in anti-tumor activity. As ICIs increase immune system activation, they can cause a wide range of inflammatory side effects, termed immune-released adverse events. Though these toxicities can affect nearly any organ, the most fatal toxicity is myocarditis. Here, we discuss the diverse spectrum of cardiovascular toxicities associated with ICI use. In addition, we provide insight and future directions on mechanisms and treatments for immune-related adverse events (irAEs) involving the myocardium, pericardium, vasculature, and conduction system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (19) ◽  
pp. 7195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Sławiński ◽  
Anna Wrona ◽  
Alicja Dąbrowska-Kugacka ◽  
Grzegorz Raczak ◽  
Ewa Lewicka

Lung cancer is a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, both in men and women. The vast majority of patients are diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC, 80–85% of lung cancer cases). Therapeutics named immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment in the last decade. They are monoclonal antibodies, and those directed against PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) or PD-L1 (programmed cell death-ligand 1) have been used in the treatment of lung cancer and significantly improved the prognosis of NSCLC patients. However, during treatment with ICIs, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) can occur in any organ and any tissue. At the same time, although cardiac irAEs are relatively rare compared to irAEs in other organs, they have a high mortality rate. The two most common clinical manifestations of immunotherapy-related cardiotoxicity are myocarditis and pericarditis. Various types of arrhythmias have been reported in patients treated with ICIs, including the occurrence of life-threatening complete atrioventricular block or ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Here, we aim to summarize the incidence, clinical manifestations, underlying mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment strategies for ICI-associated cardiotoxicity as these issues become very important in view of the increasing use of ICI in the treatment of lung cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii105-ii105
Author(s):  
Alexander Hulsbergen ◽  
Asad Lak ◽  
Yu Tung Lo ◽  
Nayan Lamba ◽  
Steven Nagtegaal ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION In several cancers treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), a remarkable association between the occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and superior oncological outcomes has been reported. This effect has hitherto not been reported in the brain. This study aimed to investigate the relation between irAEs and outcomes in brain metastases (BM) patients treated with both local treatment to the brain (LT; i.e. surgery and/or radiation) and ICIs. METHODS This study is a retrospective cohort analysis of patients treated for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) BMs in a tertiary institution in Boston, MA. Outcomes of interest were overall survival (OS) and intracranial progression-free survival (IC-PFS), measured from the time of LT. Sensitivity analyses were performed to account for immortal time bias (i.e., patients who live longer receive more cycles of ICIs and thus have more opportunity to develop an irAE). RESULTS A total of 184 patients were included; 62 (33.7%) were treated with neurosurgical resection and 122 (66.3%) with upfront brain radiation. irAEs occurred in 62 patients (33.7%). After adjusting for lung-Graded Prognostic Assessment, type of LT, type of ICI, newly diagnosed vs. recurrent BM, BM size and number, targetable mutations, and smoking status, irAEs were strongly associated with better OS (HR 0.33, 95% CI 0.19 – 0.58, p < 0.0001) and IC-PFS (HR 0.41; 95% CI 0.26 – 0.65; p = 0.0001). Landmark analysis including only patients who received more than 3 cycles of ICI (n = 133) demonstrated similar results for OS and IC-PFS, as did sensitivity analysis adjusting for the number of cycles administered (HR range 0.36 – 0.51, all p-values < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS After adjusting for known prognostic factors, irAEs strongly predict superior outcomes after LT in NSCLC BM patients. Sensitivity analysis suggests that this is unlikely due to immortal time bias.


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