Adverse Events in Cancer Immunotherapy
Noha Abdel-Wahab1,2, Anas Alshawa3, Maria E Suarez-Almazor4
1Section of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of General Internal Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|March 22, 2017
Summary
Cancer immunotherapies offer durable responses but can cause severe immune-related adverse events. Managing these complex side effects requires a multidisciplinary approach for prompt diagnosis and optimal patient care.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Internal Medicine
Background:
- Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized metastatic disease treatment, yielding durable responses superior to chemotherapy.
- Approved therapies include immune checkpoint inhibitors, cytokines (IL-2, IFN), and sipuleucel-T, which enhance antitumor immunity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the significant benefits of cancer immunotherapy.
- To underscore the potential for serious, life-threatening inflammatory and immune-related adverse events (irAEs).
- To emphasize the complexity and necessity of multidisciplinary management for irAEs.
Main Methods:
- Review of current cancer immunotherapy landscape.
- Analysis of known adverse event profiles.
- Discussion of management strategies for irAEs.
Main Results:
- Immunotherapies induce robust antitumor responses.
- irAEs are a significant concern, impacting multiple organs and potentially posing life-threatening risks.
- Effective irAE management is challenging and requires specialized expertise.
Conclusions:
- Cancer immunotherapy offers unprecedented treatment outcomes for metastatic cancers.
- Proactive identification and management of irAEs are critical for patient safety and treatment success.
- A collaborative, multidisciplinary approach is essential for optimizing patient care during immunotherapy.
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