Thermal Ablation, Embolization, and Selective Internal Radiation Therapy Combined with Checkpoint Inhibitor Cancer Immunotherapy: Safety Analysis

J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2021 Feb;32(2):187-195. doi: 10.1016/j.jvir.2020.09.014. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

Abstract

Purpose: To describe interventional oncology therapies combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy targeting the programmed death 1 pathway in patients with different neoplasms.

Materials and methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent tumor-directed thermal ablation, embolization, or selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) between January 1, 2011, and May 1, 2019, and received anti-programmed death 1/PD-L1 agents ≤ 90 days before or ≤ 30 days after the interventional procedure. Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and procedural complications ≤ 90 days after the procedure were graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. The study included 65 eligible patients (49% female; age 63 years ± 11.1). The most common tumors were metastatic melanoma (n = 28) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (n = 12). Patients underwent 78 procedures (12 patients underwent > 1 procedure), most frequently SIRT (35.9%) and cryoablation (28.2%). The most common target organs were liver (46.2%), bone (24.4%), and lung (9.0%). Most patients received ICI monotherapy with pembrolizumab (n = 30), nivolumab (n = 22), and atezolizumab (n = 6); 7 patients received ipilimumab and nivolumab.

Results: Seven (10.8%) patients experienced an irAE (71.4% grade 1-2), mostly affecting the skin. Median time to irAE was 33 days (interquartile range, 19-38 days). Five irAEs occurred in patients with melanoma, and no irAEs occurred in patients with NSCLC. Management required corticosteroids (n = 3) and immunotherapy discontinuation (n = 1); all irAEs resolved to grade ≤ 1. There were 4 intraprocedural and 32 postprocedural complications (77.8% grade < 3). No grade 5 irAEs and/or procedural complications occurred.

Conclusions: No unmanageable or unanticipated toxicities occurred within 90 days after interventional oncology therapies combined with ICIs.

MeSH terms

  • Ablation Techniques* / adverse effects
  • Aged
  • B7-H1 Antigen / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Brachytherapy* / adverse effects
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Embolization, Therapeutic* / adverse effects
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors / adverse effects
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Neoplasms / pathology
  • Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Patient Safety
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • CD274 protein, human
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
  • PDCD1 protein, human
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor