Cancer immunotherapy in patients with preexisting autoimmune disorders

Abstract

Patients with preexisting active autoimmune disorders were excluded from clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, patients with autoimmune disorders are diagnosed with cancer at least as frequently as the global population, and clinicians treating patients outside clinical trials have generally been reluctant to offer cancer immunotherapy to this patient group. In this brief article, we review the most recent literature on the efficacy and safety of CTLA-4- and PD-1-blocking antibodies in patients with preexisting autoimmune disorders.

Keywords: Autoimmune diseases; Autoimmune disorders; CTLA-4; Cancer immunotherapy; Checkpoint inhibitors; Immunotherapy; Ipilimumab; Melanoma; Nivolumab; PD-1; Pembrolizumab.