Differences by cancer type, not checkpoint inhibitor type
And in a new twist, Dr. Quandt found that, in contrast to the differences seen by checkpoint inhibitor type in randomized trials, “surprisingly, we found that this difference did not reach statistical significance.”
“Instead, we saw that cancer type was associated with development of thyroid dysfunction, even after taking checkpoint inhibitor type into account.”
The percentages of patients who developed thyroid dysfunction ranged from 9.7% of those with glioblastoma to 40.0% of those with renal cell carcinoma.
The reason for this is not clear, said Dr. Quandt in an interview.
One possibility relates to other treatments patients with cancer also receive. In renal cell carcinoma, for example, patients also are treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which can also cause thyroid dysfunction, so they may be more susceptible. Or there may be shared antigens activating the immune system.
“That’s definitely one of the questions we’re looking at,” she said.
Dr. Quandt and Dr. Lieb have reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.