AAAAI: No Increase Seen in Asthma Exacerbations With ICI Use for Melanoma, Renal Cell Carcinoma
Patients receiving pembrolizumab or nivolumab exhibited modest reduction in exacerbation rates at 24 months
By Elana Gotkine (HealthDay News) | April 09, 2026
THURSDAY, March 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with asthma, receipt of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for melanoma or renal cell carcinoma is not associated with an increased risk for exacerbations, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Feb. 27 to March 2 in Philadelphia.
Manan Shah, from the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and colleagues examined asthma exacerbation rates in patients receiving ICIs versus matched controls in a retrospective cohort study utilizing the TriNetX U.S. Collaborative Network. Data were included for 2,329 patients (aged 18 to 80 years) with asthma receiving ICI therapy for melanoma or renal cell carcinoma.
The researchers found that at 24 months, patients receiving pembrolizumab or nivolumab exhibited a modest reduction in exacerbation rates across all asthma subtypes (5.12 versus 7.75 percent). Significant benefit was seen at 24 months in patients with moderate-to-severe persistent asthma (6.82 versus 13.26 percent). No significant differences were seen in exacerbation rates for dual therapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab versus controls.
"Our findings are the first to suggest that moderate-to-severe asthma should not be considered a contraindication to ICI therapy, as these treatments were not associated with worsening asthma exacerbations," Shah said in a statement.