Critically ill patients with COVID-19 are at increased risk for thrombotic complications which has led to an intense debate surrounding their anticoagulation management. In the absence of data from randomized controlled clinical trials, a number of consensus guidelines and recommendations have been published to facilitate clinical decision-making on this issue. However, substantive differences exist between these guidelines which can be difficult for clinicians. This review briefly summarizes the major societal guidelines and compares their similarities and differences. A common theme in all of the recommendations is to take an individualized approach to patient management and a call for prospective randomized clinical trials to address important anticoagulation issues in this population.
Background
Immune‐related adverse events (irAEs) have emerged as a serious clinical issue in the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Risk factors for irAEs remain controversial. Therefore, we studied sex differences in irAEs in patients treated with anti‐programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1) therapy.
Materials and Methods
All patients with metastatic melanoma and non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with anti‐PD‐1 therapy at Mayo Clinic Rochester and Florida from 2015 to 2018 were reviewed. Kaplan‐Meier method and log‐rank test was used for time‐to‐event analysis.
Results
In 245 patients with metastatic melanoma, premenopausal women were more likely to experience irAEs (all grades) compared with postmenopausal women and men (67% vs. 60% vs. 46%), primarily because of an increase in endocrinopathies (33% vs. 12% vs. 10%, respectively). In patients with NSCLC (231 patients), women (all ages) were also more likely to develop irAEs of all grades (48% vs. 31%). Women with NSCLC were more likely to develop pneumonitis (11% vs. 4%) and endocrinopathies (14% vs. 5%). No differences in grade ≥3 toxicities were seen across sexes in both cohorts, but women were more likely to receive systemic steroids for the treatment of irAEs compared with men. Better progression‐free‐survival was observed in women with NSCLC and irAEs (10 months vs. 3.3 months) compared with women without irAEs.
Conclusion
Women with metastatic melanoma and NSCLC are more likely to experience irAEs compared with men. We also observed differences between sexes in the frequency of certain irAEs. Larger studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms underlying these associations.
Implications for Practice
The results of this study suggest that women may be at a higher risk for immune‐related adverse events (irAEs) compared with men when treated with anti‐programmed cell death protein 1 therapy. In addition, women were more likely to develop certain irAEs, including endocrinopathies and pneumonitis. Close follow‐up of women undergoing treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors will allow clinicians to diagnose these treatment‐related complications early, potentially reducing their associated morbidity and mortality. In addition, a possible association between irAEs and response to therapy was observed.
Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are malignancies with rare reports of central nervous system development. A 34-year-old woman was found to have a primary NEN of the brain, and she had recurrence with identical histology 10 years later. Extracranial NENs were excluded. She had routine surveillance for the first 5 years with MRIs and positron emission tomography/CTs after the initial presentation which was treated with radiation followed by cisplatin and etoposide. This case highlights the difference in primary NENs versus NEN metastases to the brain, and that longer periods of surveillance are likely required for primary NENs. This is important because the prognosis between primary NENs and metastatic NENs to the brain are vastly different and should not be treated as equal diseases. The patient eventually died of her recurrence secondary to complications of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt placed for treatment of hydrocephalus from the disease.
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