[Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in elderly patients]

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are the standard of care for many solid tumors with specific physiopathology mechanisms and adverse events. While the percentage of elderly patients increase from years to years, these patients are underrepresented in clinical trials. Immunosenescence and inflammaging, two main components of the aging of our immune system, and their consequences on the safety and the efficacy are today major focus of clinical research. However, there are still no risk assessment score specific to ICI in elderly patients. In this review we showed the global reassuring data on safety from several retrospective and subgroup analysis, in elderly patients. In summary, impairment of the general state is an independent factor of occurrence of adverse events treatment related whatever the age. Here, we highlight the necessity to use of geriatric evaluation screening test in clinic, the need of specific risk score ICI use in the erdely population and mostly the inclusion of elderly patients in clinical trial to generate specific data.

Keywords: Adverse events; Cancer; Effets secondaires; Elderly; Immunotherapy; Immunothérapie; Oncogériatrie; Toxicity; Toxicité.