BACKGROUNDS: Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. One of the treatment options are immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). These can cause plenty of immune-related adverse events (irAE) due to their effects on the immune system, which may require temporary or even permanent discontinuation of the treatment.
AIMS: The purpose of this thesis was to find out the frequency and grade of AEs and assess the incidence of AEs by patient and treatment characteristics. In patients, who were hospitalized because of AEs, the course and treatment of AEs were described in more detail. Moreover, the course and characteristics of selected AE (pneumonitis, colitis, hepatotoxicity, AEs of the skin) were described in patients, hospitalized at the University Clinic Golnik.
METHODS: The retrospective observational study included 294 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received ICIs at the University Clinic Golnik between August 2017 and December 2021 in any line of systemic cancer treatment, in monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy. Data for analysis was available in an anonymised patient database. The main data sources for the database were the hospital information system BIRPIS and clinical pathways for systemic cancer therapy.
RESULTS: Among the 294 patients, AEs of any grade occurred in 89 %, and AEs grade 3 or more in 20 % of patients. Hospitalisation due to an AE occurred in 19 % of patients, also 19 % required AE treatment with systemic glucocorticoids (GC). One patient, treated with chemoimmunotherapy, experienced death due to infection. Permanent discontinuation of treatment with ICI happened in 14 % of patients. The most common AEs were fatigue, skin changes and hepatotoxicity. Among hospitalized patients, 75 % of AEs were grade 3 or more. Treatment with GC was required in 77 % of hospitalized patients, 5 % of patients needed additional immunosuppressants. Among AEs, requiring hospitalization, pneumonitis and colitis were the most common, occurring in 19 %.
CONCLUSION: The incidence of AEs in our observational study is similar to those observed in randomised clinical trials of ICI in advanced NSCLC.
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