Cancer groups offer guidance on musculoskeletal adverse events related to checkpoint inhibitors

irAEs on the rise

These guidelines are particularly useful for rheumatologists to familiarize themselves with the six Food and Drug Administration–approved immune checkpoint inhibitors, their spectrum of side effects, and how oncologists use the severity of presentation to guide therapy, according to Laura Cappelli, MD.

Understanding irAEs will be increasingly important for rheumatologist as the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors continues to increase, said Dr. Cappelli, who has started a research program at Johns Hopkins to evaluate the rheumatologic adverse effects of these therapies.

Dr. Cappelli said her division sees at least one suspected irAE case per week, most commonly the immune arthritis associated with checkpoint inhibitor therapy.