Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Use Near the End of Life Is Associated With Poor Performance Status, Lower Hospice Enrollment, and Dying in the Hospital

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have changed the landscape of cancer care by increasing progression-free and overall survival in some patients with cancer. We evaluated use and variables contributing to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment near the end of life.

Methods: We studied 157 patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors and died between January 2015 and December 2018. All patients had a palliative care consult any time between starting an immune checkpoint inhibitor and death. Univariate and multivariate models were used to examine variables related to immune checkpoint inhibitor use near the end of life.

Results: Among 157 patients studied, 42 (27%) received a dose of immune checkpoint inhibitor in the last 30 days of life. Those who received treatment in the last 30 days of life had lower hospice enrollment (19 [45%] vs 78 [69%], P = .007) and higher rates of dying in the hospital (23 [56%] vs 33 [29%], P = .002). The percentage of patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) ≥3 at the time of last immune checkpoint inhibitor dose was higher in the group that received immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in the last 30 days of life (11 [26%] vs 9 [8%], P = .003). Lack of traditional chemotherapy after immune checkpoint inhibitor, ECOG ≥3, and lack of hospice enrollment were independently associated with receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor in the last 30 days of life.

Conclusion: Immune checkpoint inhibitor use in the last 30 days of life is common and associated with poor performance status, lower hospice enrollment, and dying in the hospital.