Oral Immune-Related Adverse Events - Current Concepts and their Management

Recent advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have made significant improvement in the treatment outcome of cancer patients. They are also known to increase the overall survival in many malignancies. They target key immune checkpoints, acting on the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4, programmed death-1 (PD-1), and PD-1 ligand 1 pathways. ICIs are effective in cancer therapy, but also possess various adverse effects that are termed together as immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Information focusing only on the oral reactions of irAEs is scanty in the literature. Therefore, we performed a computerized database search in PubMed and Google Scholar to identify and collect data regarding the oral adverse effects of ICIs. The early recognition of oral irAEs and appropriative intervention may help in improving the quality of life in patients. This paper presents a brief review of oral irAEs and their management.

Automated summary

Recent introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has shown significant improvement in cancer treatment outcomes by targeting key immune checkpoints. However, these inhibitors can also lead to immune-related adverse events, including oral reactions, which require early recognition and intervention for improved patient quality of life. Further research is needed on oral irAEs as literature focusing on them is limited.