Some clinical trials have described improved outcomes in patients who develop immune-related adverse events (irAEs) while receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced melanoma. It is unknown if this effect would be seen in a real-world population. This is a single-center retrospective analysis of all patients receiving singleagent PD-1 inhibitor for unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma between 2012 and 2018. The majority of patients had cutaneous melanoma and were elderly (put in median and range). Totally 33.3% were BRAF mutated and 66.7% had PD-1 inhibitor as first-line treatment for metastatic disease. Also, 22% of patients had brain metastases at presentation. Of the 87 patients included in this analysis, 48 (55%) developed at least one irAE. Dermatologic toxicities were the most common irAE. The median time to develop any irAE was 12 weeks. Only one patient died of immune-related toxicity. Overall survival in the population of patients that had an irAE was significantly greater than those that did not have any toxicity (21.1 vs. 7.5 months; P < 0.001). The development of endocrine toxicity had the strongest correlation with survival as did patient with grade 1 (NCI V.5) toxicity. The development of multiple toxicities did not correlate with survival. In patients with multiple toxicities, the type of irAE that presented initially did not impact the outcome. These findings add to the growing body of literature suggesting an association between irAEs and immune-checkpoint inhibitor efficacy while suggesting that this benefit may depend on the type of toxicity and severity. Melanoma Res 31: 258
e21549 Background: The incorporation of ICI into the treatment of melanoma has greatly improved patient outcomes, but this benefit has come at the cost of exposing patients to immune-related adverse events (irAEs). A wide spectrum of irAE types has been described, and severity is known to vary from minor to life-threatening; however, the literature to date on the chronicity of irAEs is limited. Objectives: To characterize the long-term and permanent irAEs associated with ICI treatment in patients with melanoma, the treatment of irAEs and the association with survival outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 161 adult patients with melanoma treated with at least one cycle of ICI regimen in the adjuvant or metastatic setting: 129 patients received PD-1 inhibitor monotherapy and 32 received dual immunotherapy. Patients were grouped by duration of irAE: permanent (no complete resolution), long-term (resolution over a period ≥6 months), transient (resolution over a period < 6 months), or no irAEs. Overall survival was evaluated for those patients that were treated in the metastatic setting with PD1 inhibitor monotherapy. Results: Thirty-eight patients were treated in the adjuvant setting and 123 patients were treated in the metastatic setting. A total of 279 irAEs were reported in the whole patient population. Sixty-six (41.0%) patients developed permanent irAEs, 15 (9.3%) experienced long-term irAEs as their longest-lasting toxicity, 34 (21.1%) developed transient irAEs only, and 46 (28.6%) experienced no irAEs. Permanent irAEs occurred in 21 (65.6%) patients treated with dual immunotherapy and in 45 (34.9%) patients treated with monotherapy. The majority of permanent irAEs were endocrine-related (35.5%) or skin-related (32.7%). Grade ≥3 permanent irAEs occurred in 20 (12.4%) patients and included toxicities such as adrenal insufficiency, myocarditis, and myelitis. Fifty-three (32.9%) patients were still on treatment for long-term or permanent irAEs 6 months or more following completion of ICI therapy, including 23 patients on thyroid replacement and 22 on oral steroids. ICI treatment was temporarily interrupted for 63 (22.6%) irAEs and permanently discontinued due to irAE in 38 (13.6%) patients. Subgroup analysis of patients who received single-agent ICI in the first-line palliative setting reveals that those with longer-duration irAEs had a significantly longer median overall survival. Conclusions: Despite the significant benefits, treatment with ICIs in melanoma is associated with a wide range of toxicities that can be permanent and may have long-lasting impacts on patients. The risk of long-term toxicity should therefore be discussed when obtaining consent for treatment. As these treatments are being used more commonly in the adjuvant setting, the impact of survivorship and the long-term management of these toxicities is increasingly important.
9552 Background: Both immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and BRAF targeted therapy (TT) are effective treatments for patients with advanced BRAF-mutated melanoma. However, the choice of first-line (1L) therapy is at the discretion of treating oncologists without clear guidance from current available data or established guidelines. Utilizing prospectively collected data from the Canadian Melanoma Research Network (CMRN) database, we provide real-world evidence to highlight the impact of sequencing these therapies. Methods: Prospective data from 9 cancer centres in Canada was retrieved from the CMRN database for patients with unresectable/metastatic melanoma, with BRAF targetable subtypes, who received at least one-cycle of 1L palliative-intent ICI or TT, and at least 1-year of follow-up. We categorized patients into 2 groups: 1L BRAF±MEK inhibitors with/without subsequent PD-1±CTLA-4 inhibitors (1L-TT), or vice versa (1L-ICI). The primary study outcome was overall survival (OS). Survival outcomes were analyzed through Kaplan-Meier methods, and multivariable Cox analysis was utilized to account for potential confounders. Results: Our study (N=235) included 152 and 83 patients in 1L-TT and 1L-ICI groups, respectively. Combined BRAF-MEK inhibitors accounted for 59% of the 1L-TT group, whereas single-agent IO accounted for 66% of the 1L-ICI group. There were 93 patients who received second-line (2L) therapy, with a non-significant trend of 1L-TT group receiving more 2L therapy compared to 1L-ICI group (65% vs. 43%, P=0.404). Neither treatment group showed significant differences in median time on 1L therapy (P=0.645) or 2L therapy (P=0.686). The 1L-ICI group was associated with a favourable median overall survival (OS) compared to 1L-TT group (19.3 vs. 10.0 months, P=0.031). Specifically, the ICI only group had the highest median OS, followed by TT-ICI sequence, ICI-TT sequence, and TT only groups respectively (not reached vs. 38.3 vs. 16.9 vs. 6.1 months, P<0.001). However, this OS benefit (HR 0.89, 95% 0.51-1.53, P=0.644) was non-significant upon controlling for confounders such as baseline metastatic sites >2 (HR 2.07, 95%CI 1.24-3.46, P=0.006) and ECOG ≥2 (HR 3.47, 95%CI 2.02-5.97, P<0.001) in multivariable Cox analysis. Conclusions: There was no significant difference in OS between 1L-TT and 1L-IO groups. Rather, OS is driven mostly by the patient’s clinical status and tumour-associated features. Our study provides real-world evidence in an understudied area. Further studies are needed to validate our findings to inform guideline development.[Table: see text]
201 Background: Management of irAEs due to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) requires a high degree of suspicion, and management of severe irAEs require timely initiation of corticosteroids (CS). This can be challenging in the ED, where providers may not be aware of an individual pt’s cancer treatment or its toxicities. Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center chart review for pts treated with ICIs in 2018 and 2019 who subsequently presented to ED. New irAEs with first presentation in ED were analyzed and pt outcomes were recorded. Descriptive statistics compared this population to irAEs identified in outpatient setting, as well as rates of ED utilization in pts on doublet ICI (dICI). Results: Of 351 evaluable pts treated with an ICI, 129 (37%) had at least one presentation to ED. Seventeen pts had a first presentation of a new irAE. These pts had received a median 2 cycles of ICI prior to presentation (interquartile range [IQR] 1-3) Twelve of these pts presented with generalized fatigue or pain, twelve required admission, 4 were admitted to intensive care within 30 days, and two died. Toxicities included hypophysitis (5), arthritis (2), colitis (2), myocarditis (2), neuritis (2), pneumonitis (2), adrenalitis (1), hepatitis (1). Median admission was 8.5 days (IQR 2-32), and median time to corticosteroids was 30.5 hours (range 4-269). Grade 3 or higher toxicity was more frequent in the ED pts compared to the total ICI pt population (70.5% vs. 32.2%). Pts on dICI (n = 41) had a higher rate of ED utilization (n = 23, 56.1%) and ED visits were more likely to be for first presentation of a new irAE (n = 7, 30.4% of dICI ED visits) compared to single-agent ICI regimens. Conclusions: Pts with irAEs that first present at the ED often have generalized symptoms, prolonged hospitalizations, and can have long delays to initiation of CS. Development of a protocolized approach for pts on ICI at the point of care in the ED may improve identification of irAEs, ‘door-to-steroid’ time, and patient outcomes.
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