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Pembrolizumab Cutaneous Adverse Events and Their Association With Disease Progression
Martina Sanlorenzo1, Igor Vujic1, Adil Daud1
1Mt Zion Cancer Research Center, Department of Dermatology, University of California-San Francisco (Sanlorenzo, Vujic, Daud, Algazi, Gubens, Luna, Lin, Ortiz-Urda); Section of Dermatology, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy (Sanlorenzo, Quaglino); Department of Dermatology, The Rudolfstiftung Hospital, Academic Teaching Hospital, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria (Vujic, Rappersberger).
Pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) therapy caused skin side effects in 42% of patients. Developing these adverse events, particularly hypopigmentation in melanoma patients, may indicate a better response to cancer treatment.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Dermatology
Background:
- Immunomodulatory anticancer drugs, including anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) therapies like pembrolizumab, are increasingly used.
- Limited data exists on the dermatological adverse events (AEs) associated with these treatments and their impact on treatment efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency and types of cutaneous AEs linked to pembrolizumab.
- To explore the correlation between these AEs and patient response to pembrolizumab therapy.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 83 cancer patients treated with pembrolizumab across different regimens and diagnoses (melanoma, lung, prostate, Merkel cell carcinoma).
- Data collected on occurrence, severity, and type of cutaneous AEs, alongside disease progression and treatment response.
- Median follow-up was 15 weeks.
Main Results:
- 42% of patients experienced pembrolizumab-related cutaneous AEs.
- Most common AEs included macular papular eruption (29%), pruritus (12%), and hypopigmentation (8%).
- Patients who developed cutaneous AEs showed significantly longer progression-free survival across all pembrolizumab dosing groups.
Conclusions:
- Pembrolizumab is associated with cutaneous AEs in a significant portion of patients.
- The emergence of AEs, particularly hypopigmentation in melanoma patients, may serve as a predictive biomarker for enhanced treatment response.
- Further investigation into the relationship between AEs and treatment outcomes is warranted.
