Increased risk of dermatological immune-related adverse events in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

Summary: Abstract Body: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment but are associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs), particularly dermatological manifestations. This study evaluates the incidence of dermatological irAEs among ICI-treated versus non-ICI-treated cancer patients. A retrospective cohort analysis used the TriNetX Research Network (2003–2022). ICI-treated patients were compared to non-ICI-treated cancer patients after 1:1 propensity score matching for age, sex, race, ethnicity, BMI, and comorbidities. Dermatological irAEs were identified using ICD-10 codes. Among 234,932 patients (117,466 per cohort), ICI therapy was associated with higher indidence of rash (skin eruptions, lichenoid eruptions, drug-induced hypersensitivity, and pruritus) (17% vs. 3.9%), oral/mucosal conditions (3.5% vs. 0.9%), vitiligo (0.3% vs. 0.0%), and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (0.1% vs. 0.0%; all p<0.001), corroborating previous smaller-scale studies. We demonstrated higher incidence of dermatological irAEs in ICI vs. non-ICI treated oncology patients. This large-scale study provides evidence on the dermatological safety profile of ICIs, underscoring the need for multidisciplinary collaboration between oncologists and dermatologists to improve patient outcomes. Further research should explore ICI-related mortality across cancer types. Ryan Chan¹, Rahib Islam², Andrew Gross³, Hassan Malik², Humza Pirzadah², Ahmed Abdelmaksoud³, Christopher Haas², Eman Toraih³, Shari Lipner⁴ 1. New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, United States. 2. LSU Health New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, United States. 3. Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States. 4. Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States. Clinical Research: Epidemiology and Observational Research