For patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, cutaneous immune-related adverse events (cirAEs) are associated with survival, according to a study published online Jan. 12 in JAMA Dermatology .

Kimberly Tang, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined the association of developing cirAEs following treatment with anti-programmed cell death 1 or anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 therapy with patient survival in a retrospective study. Data were included for 7,008 eligible patients who developed cirAEs after treatment for malignant neoplasms of digestive organs, bronchus or lung, melanoma of skin, and the urinary tract and 7,008 matched controls.

The researchers found that using a Benjamini-Hochberg correction with a significance level of 0.05, pruritus, drug eruption, xerosis, nonspecific rashes, and appearance of any cirAE were significantly protective of mortality (hazard ratios, 0.695, 0.755, 0.626, 0.704, and 0.778, respectively). Psoriasis and lichen planus/lichenoid dermatitis were also significant (hazard ratios, 0.703 and 0.511, respectively). Strong protective clinical effects were seen for eczematous dermatitis, vitiligo, bullous pemphigoid, and Grover disease, but they did not reach statistical significance.

"This cohort study suggests that cirAE development is a favorable clinical indicator and warrants further investigation into its underlying immunopathogenesis, which may provide further insights into immunotherapy response," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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