Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jan/Feb;24(1):36-40.
doi: 10.1097/PPO.0000000000000296.

Toxicities Associated With PD-1/PD-L1 Blockade

Daniel Y Wang  1 , Douglas B Johnson, Elizabeth J Davis
Affiliations
Review

Toxicities Associated With PD-1/PD-L1 Blockade

Daniel Y Wang et al. Cancer J. 2018 Jan/Feb.

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, particularly those targeting PD-1/PD-L1, produce durable responses in a subset of patients across cancer types. Although often well tolerated, these agents can induce a broad spectrum of autoimmune-like complications that may affect any organ system. Treatment of these toxicities primarily consists of immune suppression with corticosteroids and other agents. This review briefly discusses the mechanisms of immune-related adverse events, overviews the clinical and pathologic features of major toxicities caused by PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, and reviews their management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: DBJ serves on advisory boards for BMS, Genoptix, Incyte, Merck, and Novartis, and receives research-related funding from Incyte.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Approximate incidence of immune-related adverse events with anti-PD-1 monotherapy
Figure 2
Figure 2
Algorithm for management of common irAEs (pneumonitis, diarrhea/colitis, hepatitis). *Hospitalization may not be required for ambulatory, well-hydrated patients available for close outpatient follow-up
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wolchok JD. PD-1 Blockers. Cell. 2015;162:937. - PubMed
    1. Fife BT, Bluestone JA. Control of peripheral T-cell tolerance and autoimmunity via the CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways. Immunol Rev. 2008;224:166–82. - PubMed
    1. Iwama S, De Remigis A, Callahan MK, Slovin SF, Wolchok JD, Caturegli P. Pituitary expression of CTLA-4 mediates hypophysitis secondary to administration of CTLA-4 blocking antibody. Sci Transl Med. 2014;6:230ra45. - PubMed
    1. Dubin K, Callahan MK, Ren B, Khanin R, Viale A, Ling L, No D, Gobourne A, Littmann E, Huttenhower C, Pamer EG, Wolchok JD. Intestinal microbiome analyses identify melanoma patients at risk for checkpoint-blockade-induced colitis. Nat Commun. 2016;7:10391. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Johnson DB, Balko JM, Compton ML, Chalkias S, Gorham J, Xu Y, Hicks M, Puzanov I, Alexander MR, Bloomer TL, Becker JR, Slosky DA, Phillips EJ, Pilkinton MA, Craig-Owens L, Kola N, Plautz G, Reshef DS, Deutsch JS, Deering RP, Olenchock BA, Lichtman AH, Roden DM, Seidman CE, Koralnik IJ, Seidman JG, Hoffman RD, Taube JM, Diaz LA, Jr, Anders RA, Sosman JA, Moslehi JJ. Fulminant Myocarditis with Combination Immune Checkpoint Blockade. N Engl J Med. 2016;375:1749–55. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms