Managing Adverse Events With Immune Checkpoint Agents

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 and anti programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death 1 ligand antibodies) have shown impressive clinical activity in multiple cancer types. Despite achieving great clinical success, challenges and limitations of these drugs as monotherapy or various combinational strategies include the development of a unique set of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) that can be severe and even fatal. Therefore, identification of patients at risk, prevention, consistent communication between patients and medical team, rapid recognition, and treatment of irAEs are critical in optimizing treatment outcomes. This review focuses on the description of more common irAEs and provides a suggested approach for management of specific irAEs.