Evaluating Survival After Hospitalization Due to Immune-Related Adverse Events From Checkpoint Inhibitors

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are increasingly used for cancer treatment.
• This leads to a rise in hospitalizations due to severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify patients hospitalized for irAEs.
• To describe survival outcomes based on irAE type, CPI regimen, and cancer type.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized for irAEs from January 2012 to December 2020.
• Survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests.

Main Results:

• 114 out of 3137 patients (3.6%) were hospitalized for irAEs.
• Gastrointestinal/hepatic, endocrine, and pulmonary irAEs were most common.
• Median survival post-hospital admission was 980 days.
• Pulmonary irAEs and lung cancer were associated with significantly worse survival.
• Combination CPI therapy showed longer median survival than PD-(L)1 inhibitors.

Conclusions:

• irAE-related hospitalizations are expected to increase with CPI use.
• Survival outcomes for hospitalized irAE patients differ by irAE and cancer type.
• Findings can inform patient counseling and treatment decisions for severe irAEs.