KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to assess adjuvant ICI in patients with elderly melanoma ≥ 75 years compared to younger patients.
- Researchers observed higher toxicity and reduced efficacy of adjuvant ICI.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have demonstrated safety and efficacy in adjuvant treatment of melanoma, yet data specific to elderly patients aged 75 years or older remains limited.
A Gawaz and the team aimed to compare the efficacy and safety profiles of adjuvant ICI in patients aged ≥ 75 years vs those < 75 years in a real-world setting.
Researchers performed an inclusive analysis of clinical data from 456 patients treated with adjuvant ICI between January 1st, 2018, and December 20th, 2022. Patients were categorized based on age: 117 patients aged ≥ 75 years and 339 patients aged < 75 years. The study aimed to compare the occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAE) and disease-free survival (DFS) between these age groups.
The study concluded that adjuvant ICI were generally well tolerated across age groups, with similar overall occurrence of irAE. However, elderly patients (≥ 75 years) experienced a notably higher incidence of skin, nephrological toxicity, and colitis/diarrhea compared to younger patients.
Additionally, patients aged ≥ 75 years demonstrated a significantly shorter DFS, suggesting reduced efficacy of adjuvant ICI in this population. Given these findings, caution is warranted when considering adjuvant ICI therapy for elderly patients with melanoma.
The study received an open-access funding from the University of Tübingen.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38969911/
Gawaz A, Wolff I, Nanz L, et al. (2024). “Efficacy of adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors pembrolizumab or nivolumab in melanoma patients ≥ 75 years: results of a real-world cohort including 456 patients.” Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2024 Jul 5;73(9):185. doi: 10.1007/s00262-024-03750-1. PMID: 38969911; PMCID: PMC11226568.
