Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly recognised to effectuate long-lasting therapeutic responses in solid tumours. However, ICI therapy can also result in various immune-related adverse events, such as ICI-associated myocarditis, a rare but serious complication. The clinical spectrum is wide and includes asymptomatic patients and patients with fulminant heart failure, making it challenging to diagnose this condition. Furthermore, the optimal diagnostic algorithm and treatment of ICI-associated myocarditis is unknown. In this review, we describe two cases on both ends of the spectrum and discuss the challenges in recognising, diagnosing and treating ICI-associated myocarditis.
Project description:ObjectiveWe performed a systematic literature review to identify all reports of immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated inflammatory arthritis to describe it phenotypically and serologically.MethodsPubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for reports of musculoskeletal immune-related adverse events secondary to ICI treatment. Publications were included if they provided individual patient level data regarding the pattern of joint involvement. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize results.ResultsA total of 4339 articles were screened, of which 67 were included, encompassing 372 patients. The majority of patients had metastatic melanoma (57%), and they were treated with anti-PD1 or anti-PDL1 therapy (78%). Median time to onset of arthritis was 4 months (range, 1 day to 53 months). Forty-nine percent had polyarthritis, 17% oligoarthritis, 3% monoarthritis, 10% arthralgia, and 21% polymyalgia rheumatica. More than half of patients were described as having a "rheumatoid arthritis-like" presentation. Nine percent tested positive for rheumatoid factor or anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies. Seventy-four percent required corticosteroids, and 45% required additional medications. Sixty-three percent achieved arthritis control, and 32% were ultimately able to discontinue antirheumatic treatments. Immune checkpoint inhibitors were continued in 49%, transiently withheld in 11%, and permanently discontinued due to musculoskeletal immune-related adverse events in 13%.ConclusionsHalf of reported immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated arthritis cases present with polyarthritis (often RA-like), but only 9% are seropositive. Polymyalgia rheumatica is also common. Most patients respond to steroids alone, but about half require additional medications. Further studies are needed to determine long-term musculoskeletal outcomes in these patients, and the impact of arthritis treatment on cancer survival.
Project description:AimsMyocarditis is a potentially fatal complication of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). Sparse data exist on the use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in ICI-associated myocarditis. In this study, the CMR characteristics and the association between CMR features and cardiovascular events among patients with ICI-associated myocarditis are presented.Methods and resultsFrom an international registry of patients with ICI-associated myocarditis, clinical, CMR, and histopathological findings were collected. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were a composite of cardiovascular death, cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrest, and complete heart block. In 103 patients diagnosed with ICI-associated myocarditis who had a CMR, the mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 50%, and 61% of patients had an LVEF ≥50%. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was present in 48% overall, 55% of the reduced EF, and 43% of the preserved EF cohort. Elevated T2-weighted short tau inversion recovery (STIR) was present in 28% overall, 30% of the reduced EF, and 26% of the preserved EF cohort. The presence of LGE increased from 21.6%, when CMR was performed within 4 days of admission to 72.0% when CMR was performed on Day 4 of admission or later. Fifty-six patients had cardiac pathology. Late gadolinium enhancement was present in 35% of patients with pathological fibrosis and elevated T2-weighted STIR signal was present in 26% with a lymphocytic infiltration. Forty-one patients (40%) had MACE over a follow-up time of 5 months. The presence of LGE, LGE pattern, or elevated T2-weighted STIR were not associated with MACE.ConclusionThese data suggest caution in reliance on LGE or a qualitative T2-STIR-only approach for the exclusion of ICI-associated myocarditis.
Project description:Context.—Cardiac complications of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy are rare, but reports of myocarditis are increasing. The findings have been described in case reports as lymphocytic myocarditis, but its histopathology is underreported.Objective.—To review the histology of myocardial biopsy-proven cases of immune checkpoint-associated myocarditis and provide immunohistochemical characterization of the inflammatory infiltrate.Design.—We have encountered 6 patients with biopsy-proven myocarditis in conjunction with therapy using anti-programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) agents with and without cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors and characterized the histopathology and immune cell profile.Results.—The myocarditis was multifocal/diffuse and characterized by a predominant CD163-positive histiocytic infiltrate, with an associated CD8+ and PD-1+ T-lymphocytic infiltrate, some of which were granzyme B positive. Cardiac myocytes showed immunoreactivity for PD-L1 in areas of injury, confirmed using 2 different anti-PD-L1 clones. Four of 6 patients recovered from their cardiac injury. One patient had residual tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome and 1 patient expired.Conclusions.—The diffuse lymphohistiocytic myocarditis associated with this therapy is relatively distinctive, and this diagnosis is strongly suggested based on the histopathologic findings in the correct clinical setting.
Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are improving cancer treatments strikingly. The raising use leads to the augmented occurrence of immune related events. Myocarditis is a rare, but severe form of these adverse events. Nine patients with proven ICI induced myocarditis were subjected to myocardial biopsy. The tissue was used for RNA-seq analyses.
Project description:Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-related myositis with myocarditis is a rare but potentially fatal immune-related adverse event. However, its clinical features, response to immunosuppressive treatment, and prognosis remain poorly understood. Here, we describe the clinical course of patients with ICI-related myositis overlapping with myocarditis treated at our institution and a systematic review focusing on the response to immunosuppressive therapy. Methods: We identified patients who developed ICI-induced myositis with myocarditis and were treated at our hospital using a retrospective chart review of electronic medical records. For the systematic review, studies reporting ICI-induced myositis with myocarditis were identified using the Cochrane Library and PubMed databases. Results: Of the 625 patients treated with ICIs, four developed myositis with concurrent myocarditis. All the patients received immunosuppressive therapy. We assessed the activity of myocarditis and myositis based on temporal changes in troponin and creatine kinase (CK) levels. In all patients, peak troponin values appeared later than the peak CK values (median, 17 days). The median time from the start of ICI therapy to the peak of troponin and CK levels was 42.5 and 28 days, respectively. In all patients, CK levels decreased rapidly and steadily after the initiation of immunosuppressants. However, troponin levels were unstable and increased. In all patients, CK levels normalized within one month (range, 12–27 days), but troponin levels took several months to normalize (range, 84–161 days). Fourteen cases of ICI-related myositis with myocarditis were included in the systematic review. Of the 14 cases, 12 (86%) had their CK level decreased after the initial steroid treatment, but the troponin level increased and was higher than that before the start of treatment. In addition, the peak troponin values appeared later than the peak CK values (a median of 6.5 days). Eight (89%) of 9 long-term follow-up patients had troponin levels above the normal range even after CK normalization. Conclusion: In most cases of ICI-related myositis with myocarditis, troponin levels increased after the initial steroid treatment despite decreased CK levels, and exceeded pre-steroid levels. In addition, troponin remained elevated for several months after CK normalized.
Project description:BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are monoclonal antibodies used to activate the immune system against tumor cells. Despite therapeutic benefits, ICIs have the potential to cause immune-related adverse events such as myocarditis, a rare but serious side effect with up to 50% mortality in affected patients. Histologically, patients with ICI myocarditis have lymphocytic infiltrates in the heart, implicating T cell-mediated mechanisms. However, the precise pathological immune subsets and molecular changes in ICI myocarditis are unknown.MethodsTo identify immune subset(s) associated with ICI myocarditis, we performed time-of-flight mass cytometry on peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 52 individuals: 29 patients with autoimmune adverse events (immune-related adverse events) on ICI, including 8 patients with ICI myocarditis, and 23 healthy control subjects. We also used multiomics single-cell technology to immunophenotype 30 patients/control subjects using single-cell RNA sequencing, single-cell T-cell receptor sequencing, and cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing with feature barcoding for surface marker expression confirmation. To correlate between the blood and the heart, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing/T-cell receptor sequencing/cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing on MRL/Pdcd1-/- (Murphy Roths large/programmed death-1-deficient) mice with spontaneous myocarditis.ResultsUsing these complementary approaches, we found an expansion of cytotoxic CD8+ T effector cells re-expressing CD45RA (Temra CD8+ cells) in patients with ICI myocarditis compared with control subjects. T-cell receptor sequencing demonstrated that these CD8+ Temra cells were clonally expanded in patients with myocarditis compared with control subjects. Transcriptomic analysis of these Temra CD8+ clones confirmed a highly activated and cytotoxic phenotype. Longitudinal study demonstrated progression of these Temra CD8+ cells into an exhausted phenotype 2 months after treatment with glucocorticoids. Differential expression analysis demonstrated elevated expression levels of proinflammatory chemokines (CCL5/CCL4/CCL4L2) in the clonally expanded Temra CD8+ cells, and ligand receptor analysis demonstrated their interactions with innate immune cells, including monocytes/macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils, as well as the absence of key anti-inflammatory signals. To complement the human study, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing/T-cell receptor sequencing/cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing in Pdcd1-/- mice with spontaneous myocarditis and found analogous expansions of cytotoxic clonal effector CD8+ cells in both blood and hearts of such mice compared with controls.ConclusionsClonal cytotoxic Temra CD8+ cells are significantly increased in the blood of patients with ICI myocarditis, corresponding to an analogous increase in effector cytotoxic CD8+ cells in the blood/hearts of Pdcd1-/- mice with myocarditis. These expanded effector CD8+ cells have unique transcriptional changes, including upregulation of chemokines CCL5/CCL4/CCL4L2, which may serve as attractive diagnostic/therapeutic targets for reducing life-threatening cardiac immune-related adverse events in ICI-treated patients with cancer.
Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has been shown to improve outcomes across many types of malignancies. However, immune checkpoint inhibitor has been associated with several immune-related adverse events including myocarditis. We describe the case of a 69-year-old man with fulminant myocarditis likely due to pembrolizumab therapy, complicated by biventricular failure with cardiogenic shock. Because of deterioration in hemodynamic status refractory to conventional immunosuppression, therapeutic plasma exchange was performed, resulting in a rapid reduction of serum pembrolizumab levels, and marked clinical, radiological, and biochemical improvement. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case on the successful use of plasma exchange for pembrolizumab-associated fulminant myocarditis.
Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitors represent a major breakthrough in cancer therapy. Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) may occur during treatment due to their unique mechanism of action. Management of irAEs is based on clinical experience because it is not easy to conduct prospective trials to evaluate the best treatment strategy. Using a combination of search terms in the PubMed and Embase databases, we reviewed all cases in the English language citing toxicities associated with either pembrolizumab, nivolumab, ipilimumab, atezolizumab, tremelimumab, durvalumab, avelumab or any combination of these agents published before 20 May 2019. A total of 128 reports with 239 cases were included in the study. Here, we summarize the spectrum of toxicities, safety in special patients, rechallenging after irAEs and agents used for treatment of irAEs in those reports.