Integrative epidemiology and immuno-transcriptomics uncover a risk and potential mechanism for cutaneous lymphoma unmasking or progression with dupilumab therapy

Background: There have been multiple reports of the anti-IL4Rα agent, dupilumab, as associated with the onset and/or progression of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

Objective: We sought to evaluate safety signals associated with dupilumab, with a focus on CTCL, and to evaluate possible underlying mechanism(s) for the potential association.

Methods: First, we used the FDA pharmacovigilance database, FAERS, to evaluate if dupilumab was associated with CTCL including both positive controls (conjunctivitis, eosinophilia, and arthralgia) and exposure controls (other medications with similar indications including JAK-inhibitors and the anti-IL13, tralokinumab,) to reduce and evaluate confounding bias. Thereafter, we used publicly available bulk and single cell-RNA seq datasets to probe possible underlying mechanisms through which dupilumab might be associated with CTCL.

Results: Between January 2019 and Q2 of 2023, there were 181,575 unique reports of dupilumab related adverse events (AE) in FAERS with 606 of these being for a neoplasm. Dupilumab had 30.0 times the proportional reporting ratio (PRR) (95% CI: 25.0 - 35.9) for CTCL compared to all other medications in FAERS. The risk was highest in males aged 45-65. The PRR for conjunctivitis, eosinophilia, and arthralgia, known side effects of dupilumab, were 35.6 (34.4 - 36.8), 2.15 (2.00 - 2.31), and 2.14 (2.07 - 2.18) respectively. Using the log-count normalized PRR (AE score) to account for PRR inflation when reports were small, the top safety signals included conjunctivitis (AEscore 8.3) and CTCL (AEscore 4.9). Bulk RNA sequencing data showed changes in IL4RA and IL13RA1 expression in CTCL and in epidermal layers of atopic dermatitis (AD) biopsies. Single-cell transcriptomic studies revealed that this change was similar in AD and CTCL, and that keratinocytes seemed to be the most divergent cell type with regards to IL4R and IL13RA1. An effect on keratinocyte specific gene expression was also independently observed in available bulk RNA sequencing data.

Conclusion: These data suggest that dupilumab might be causing an unmasking or progression of CTCL via the same mechanism through which it improves atopic dermatitis: IL13 receptor blockade, which leads to increased IL13 in the local milieu, driving CTCL stimulation and progression. However, these associations need further evaluation given the inherent limitations of the FAERS database and our non-experimental approach.