Clinical outcomes of endocrine and other disorders induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors in Japanese patients

Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 2;15(1):390. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-84488-9.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of treatment and survival after administration of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) in Japanese patients and had endocrine-related and/or other immune-related adverse events (irAEs), as well as irAEs in multiple organs. This is a single-center, retrospective, observational study of 571 Japanese patients treated with ICI at our hospital. We evaluated the occurrence of Grade 3 or higher irAEs and the life expectancy and treatment efficacy after ICI administration. Endocrine-related irAE (E-irAE), other irAE (O-irAE), endocrine-related and other irAE (EO-irAE), and multiple endocrine-related irAE (ME-irAE) were evaluated in groups. 80.8% of patients had an irAE, with the highest incidence of irAE with ipilimumab plus PD-1 inhibitor, followed by atezolizumab 59.0%, pembrolizumab 53.7%, avelumab 50.0%, and nivolumab 47.3%, Durvamumab 26.7% followed; Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed higher survival rates in patients with irAE compared to non-irAE, and higher survival rates in EO-irAE and ME-irAE compared to E-irAE and O-irAE (p < 0.001). The COX proportional hazard ratios for overall survival were E-irAE 0.611 (0.480-0.772), O-irAE 0.758 (0.597-0.957), EO-irAE 0.622 (0.466-0.819) and ME-irAE 0.463 when non-irAE was set at 1.000 (0.257-0.775). When grade 3 or higher irAEs appeared, regardless of their type, there was a trend toward higher survival and post-treatment remission rates after ICI administration. In addition to this, patients with irAEs in multiple endocrine tissues and patients with irAEs in both endocrine and other organs had a better response to treatment after ICI administration.

Keywords: Endocrine disorder; Immune check point inhibitors; Immune-related adverse events; Retrospective study.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / adverse effects
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / therapeutic use
  • East Asian People
  • Endocrine System Diseases* / chemically induced
  • Endocrine System Diseases* / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors* / adverse effects
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors* / therapeutic use
  • Japan / epidemiology
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms / mortality
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • pembrolizumab