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TOPLINE:

In a study of patients with advanced melanoma, the prevalence of cutaneous immune–related adverse events (cirAEs) associated with nivolumab/relatlimab combination therapy was 21.5%, with rash and maculopapular eruption being most common.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of 186 patients in the Mass General Brigham Research Patient Data Registry (55% men; mean age, 71 years; 97% White) with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who were treated with nivolumab, a programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor, and relatlimab, a lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) antibody–mediated inhibitor, during 2022-2024.
• A total of 77% of patients had stage IV and 18% had stage III disease.
• A manual chart review was used to collect information on assessing patient characteristics, immune-related adverse events (irAE), and cirAEs.

TAKEAWAY:

• Of all patients, 117 (63%) experienced at least one irAE, predominantly affecting the endocrine (56%) or gastrointestinal systems (50%).
• In addition, 40 (21.5%) of patients experienced at least one cirAE, with rash not otherwise specified (37.5%), maculopapular eruption (22.5%), and pruritus (12.5%) being the most common.
• Most cirAEs were managed with topical steroids (57.5%) or oral steroids (37.5%); 15% were treated with oral antipruritic therapy. No patients had to discontinue treatment because of cirAEs.
• Having had a prior hypersensitivity reaction was significantly associated with developing cirAEs (P = .004).

IN PRACTICE:

The finding that nivolumab/relatlimab was associated with a 21.5% prevalence of cirAEs, “is similar to clinical trial data demonstrating an all-grade cirAE prevalence of 28%," the authors wrote. “We show that, despite the novelty of the LAG-3 target, morphologic features of these cirAEs remain consistent with that of other ICI combination therapies," they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Baraa A. Hijaz, BS, and Natalie Braun, BA, of Harvard Medical School, Boston. It was published online on February 28 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

Study limitations included the retrospective design and small sample size.

DISCLOSURES:

The study did not receive any funding. One author reported receiving honoraria from Pfizer.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.