Multiple Gastrointestinal Immune-Related Adverse Events From Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly used for cancer treatment.
• Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are known side effects of ICIs.
• Gastrointestinal (GI) irAEs can affect various organs within the GI system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the occurrence and patterns of multisystem gastrointestinal irAEs in patients treated with ICIs.
• To identify specific combinations of GI organs affected by irAEs.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 2,843 cancer patients treated with ICIs.
• Utilized an Electronic Medical Record Search Engine to identify patients with multiple GI irAEs from free text records.

Main Results:

• Thirteen patients (0.46%) experienced multiple gastrointestinal irAEs.
• The most common multisystem irAE patterns were colitis with pancreatitis and colitis with enteritis.

Conclusions:

• Multisystem gastrointestinal irAEs are infrequent complications of ICI therapy.
• These rare events require further investigation and clinical attention for proper management.