Long-term toxicities with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) in melanoma patients.

Authors

null

Justin Tong

Department of Oncology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada

Justin Tong , B. Adi Kartolo , Cynthia Yeung , Wilma M. Hopman , Tara D. Baetz

Organizations

Department of Oncology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, Division of Medical Oncology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, Department of Public Health Sciences-Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada

Research Funding

No funding received

Background: The incorporation of ICI into the treatment of melanoma has greatly improved patient outcomes, but this benefit has come at the cost of exposing patients to immune-related adverse events (irAEs). A wide spectrum of irAE types has been described, and severity is known to vary from minor to life-threatening; however, the literature to date on the chronicity of irAEs is limited. Objectives: To characterize the long-term and permanent irAEs associated with ICI treatment in patients with melanoma, the treatment of irAEs and the association with survival outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 161 adult patients with melanoma treated with at least one cycle of ICI regimen in the adjuvant or metastatic setting: 129 patients received PD-1 inhibitor monotherapy and 32 received dual immunotherapy. Patients were grouped by duration of irAE: permanent (no complete resolution), long-term (resolution over a period ≥6 months), transient (resolution over a period < 6 months), or no irAEs. Overall survival was evaluated for those patients that were treated in the metastatic setting with PD1 inhibitor monotherapy. Results: Thirty-eight patients were treated in the adjuvant setting and 123 patients were treated in the metastatic setting. A total of 279 irAEs were reported in the whole patient population. Sixty-six (41.0%) patients developed permanent irAEs, 15 (9.3%) experienced long-term irAEs as their longest-lasting toxicity, 34 (21.1%) developed transient irAEs only, and 46 (28.6%) experienced no irAEs. Permanent irAEs occurred in 21 (65.6%) patients treated with dual immunotherapy and in 45 (34.9%) patients treated with monotherapy. The majority of permanent irAEs were endocrine-related (35.5%) or skin-related (32.7%). Grade ≥3 permanent irAEs occurred in 20 (12.4%) patients and included toxicities such as adrenal insufficiency, myocarditis, and myelitis. Fifty-three (32.9%) patients were still on treatment for long-term or permanent irAEs 6 months or more following completion of ICI therapy, including 23 patients on thyroid replacement and 22 on oral steroids. ICI treatment was temporarily interrupted for 63 (22.6%) irAEs and permanently discontinued due to irAE in 38 (13.6%) patients. Subgroup analysis of patients who received single-agent ICI in the first-line palliative setting reveals that those with longer-duration irAEs had a significantly longer median overall survival. Conclusions: Despite the significant benefits, treatment with ICIs in melanoma is associated with a wide range of toxicities that can be permanent and may have long-lasting impacts on patients. The risk of long-term toxicity should therefore be discussed when obtaining consent for treatment. As these treatments are being used more commonly in the adjuvant setting, the impact of survivorship and the long-term management of these toxicities is increasingly important.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2022 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Publication Only

Session Title

Melanoma/Skin Cancers

Track

Melanoma/Skin Cancers

Sub Track

Advanced/Metastatic Disease

Citation

J Clin Oncol 40, 2022 (suppl 16; abstr e21549)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.e21549

Abstract #

e21549

Abstract Disclosures