Immune checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis: research advances in prediction and management

Front Immunol. 2024 Feb 15:15:1266850. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1266850. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The advent of immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has revolutionized the treatment of malignant solid tumors in the last decade, producing lasting benefits in a subset of patients. However, unattended excessive immune responses may lead to immune-related adverse events (irAEs). IrAEs can manifest in different organs within the body, with pulmonary toxicity commonly referred to as immune checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis (CIP). The CIP incidence remains high and is anticipated to rise further as the therapeutic indications for ICIs expand to encompass a wider range of malignancies. The diagnosis and treatment of CIP is difficult due to the large individual differences in its pathogenesis and severity, and severe CIP often leads to a poor prognosis for patients. This review summarizes the current state of clinical research on the incidence, risk factors, predictive biomarkers, diagnosis, and treatment for CIP, and we address future directions for the prevention and accurate prediction of CIP.

Keywords: diagnosis; immune checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis; malignancy; prediction; treatment.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors* / adverse effects
  • Pneumonia* / chemically induced
  • Pneumonia* / diagnosis
  • Risk Factors

Substances

  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82203056), the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (2023-BS-167), the Science and Technology Talent Innovation Support Plan of Dalian (2022RQ091) and the “1+X “program for Clinical Competency Enhancement–Clinical Research Incubation Project of the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University(2022LCYJYB01).