Clinical, Immunological and Radiological Features of Endocrine Immune Related Adverse Events

Abstract

Immune checkpoint blockade is a cancer treatment aimed at restoring and enhancing the ability of the immune system to combat a tumour. A recognised side effect is “collateral” immune damage to healthy tissue, or immune related adverse events (irAEs). Immune toxicity to endocrine glands can be rapid and irreversible and may result in the need for lifelong hormone replacement. A major challenge is identifying which patients will develop endocrine irAEs when treated with checkpoint inhibitors. The role of predictive biomarkers such as HLA type or autoantibodies has not been prospectively evaluated. The possibility of detecting pre-clinical endocrine dysfunction using MRI and PET imaging is desc..