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Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Immune-related adverse events are often induced by treatment with PD-1 inhibitors, and current research suggests that the presence of autoantibodies may reveal which patients are at a higher risk of experiencing these events. Published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, a study conducted by Jessica S.W. Borgers, MD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, investigated whether there is a correlation among autoantibody positivity, toxicity, and clinical response among patients with melanoma treated with immunotherapy.
“In our study, autoantibody positivity prior to anti–PD-1 therapy was associated with the development of immune-related adverse events in patients with advanced-stage melanoma,” the authors concluded. “Our findings therefore indicate that measuring antithyroid antibodies at baseline and after 3 months of treatment is a very potent biomarker for predicting the development of thyroid dysfunction.”
This retrospective study enrolled 143 patients with melanoma who received anti–PD-1 therapy. Recurrences, responses, and toxicities of at least grade 2 were recorded up to 6 months after treatment initiation. Autoantibody levels, including antithyroid antibodies, were measured at baseline and 3 months after treatment initiation.
A total of 169 immune-related adverse events were reported in 86 patients, with the majority being grade 1 to 2 (n = 137). The most common adverse event was thyroiditis (n = 25), followed by dermatitis (n = 24) and sicca problems (n = 19). It was found that participants who presented with autoantibodies at baseline experienced significantly more immune-related adverse events (P = .001); according to the study authors, antithyroid antibodies were found to be associated with thyroid dysfunction.
Of interest, there appeared to be no correlation among immunoglobulin M rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, or anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies and any immune-related adverse event. Baseline and on-treatment antithyroid antibody positivity and seroconversion during treatment was noted among women; however, this was observed only in men on treatment.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit jitc.bmj.com.
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
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