Granulomatous and Sarcoid-like Immune-Related Adverse Events following CTLA4 and PD1 Blockade Adjuvant Therapy of Melanoma: A Combined Analysis of ECOG-ACRIN E1609 and SWOG S1404 Phase III Trials and a Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has been linked to granulomatous and sarcoid-like lesions (GSLs) affecting different organs. This study sought to evaluate GSL incidence in patients with high-risk melanoma treated with cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) or programmed cell death 1 (PD1) blockade adjuvant therapy in two clinical trials: ECOG-ACRIN E1609 and SWOG S1404. Descriptions and GSL severity ratings were recorded.

METHODS

Data were collected from ECOG-ACRIN E1609 and SWOG S1404. Descriptive statistics along with GSL severity grades were reported. Additionally, a literature review for such cases was summarized.

RESULTS

A total of 11 GSL cases were reported among 2878 patients treated with either ICI or with High-Dose Interferon Alfa-2b (HDI) in ECOG-ACRIN E1609 and SWOG S1404 trials. Cases were numerically more commonly reported with ipi10, followed by pembrolizumab, ipi3, and HDI, respectively. Most of the cases were grade III. Further, organs involved included lung, mediastinal lymph nodes, skin and subcutaneous tissue, and eye. Furthermore, a summary of 62 reports in the literature was described.

CONCLUSIONS

GSLs following anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1 antibody therapy in patients with melanoma were reported unusually. Reported cases ranged in grade from I to III and appeared manageable. Careful attention to these events and their reporting will be essential to better guide practice and management guidelines.

Comparative efficacy and safety of dabrafenib in combination with trametinib versus competing adjuvant therapies for high-risk melanoma

Aim To conduct a systematic literature review of high-risk resectable cutaneous melanoma adjuvant therapeutics and compare safety and efficacy. Methods: The systematic literature review included randomized controlled trials investigating: dabrafenib plus trametinib (DAB + TRAM), nivolumab, pembrolizumab, ipilimumab, vemurafenib, chemotherapy and interferons. Outcomes included overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival and safety. All outcomes were synthesized using Bayesian network meta-analysis. Results: Across relapse-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival and OS, DAB + TRAM had the lowest estimated hazards of respective events relative to all other treatments (exception relative to nivolumab in OS). Differences were significant relative to placebo, chemotherapy, interferons and ipilimumab. Conclusion: DAB + TRAM has improved efficacy over historical treatment options (ipilimumab, interferons and chemotherapy) and comparable efficacy with other targeted and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Retrospective analysis of drug utilization, health care resource use, and costs associated with IFN therapy for adjuvant treatment of malignant melanoma

Background

This study examines real-world drug utilization patterns, health care resource use, and costs among patients receiving adjuvant treatment with IFN versus patients receiving no treatment (“observation”) for malignant melanoma following surgery.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using administrative claims from Truven Health Analytics (MarketScan^®) to identify all adjuvant melanoma patients (aged ≥18 years) diagnosed between June 2007 and June 2011 who had a lymph node dissection (ie, index surgery) and were treated with IFN or subsequently observed. Health care resource use and costs of services were converted to 2012 US dollars and were evaluated and compared using multivariable regression.

Results

Of 1,999 eligible subjects with melanoma surgery claims, 179 (9.0%) were treated with IFN and 1,820 (91.0%) were observed. The median duration (days) and number of doses of IFN therapy were 73 and 36, respectively. Among IFN-treated patients, only 10.6% completed ≥80% of maintenance therapy. The total average cost for patients treated with IFN was US$60,755±$3,972 (n=179); significantly higher than for patients undergoing observation ($31,641±$2,471; P<0.0001). Similar trends were observed when evaluating total cost components, including melanoma-related and non-melanoma–related medical costs. Among the melanoma-related medical costs, outpatient services, including office visits and laboratory testing, represented between 33% and 53% of total costs and demonstrated the largest difference between IFN-treated and observation patients. Outpatient service costs for IFN-treated patients were $32,414±$2,498, over three times greater than those for observation patients ($10,556±$1,128; P<0.0001).

Conclusion

The majority of adjuvant melanoma patients in this study was treated with observation versus IFN treatment. Among those who attempted IFN treatment, most could not complete the recommended course of therapy. Health care costs were significantly greater for patients treated with IFN, with the greatest differences being for melanoma-related medical cost components. These findings illustrate the significant economic burden borne by adjuvant melanoma patients and their health insurers.