Interstitial Lung Diseases Unit, 1st Department of Respiratory Medicine, "Sotiria" Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece,
Oncology Unit, 3rd Department of Medicine, "Sotiria" Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece,
Respiration. 2020;99(11):932-942. doi: 10.1159/000509941. Epub 2020 Dec 1.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are novel agents that have been proved efficacious in a variety of cancer types, but they are associated with a unique set of organ-specific, immune-related adverse events. Among them, immune-related pneumonitis requires special attention because it is difficult to diagnose and potentially lethal. Accumulating real-world epidemiological data suggest that immune-related pneumonitis is more frequent than previously reported. Its diagnosis requires exclusion of other causes and assessment of radiographic features on high-resolution CT of the chest. Management of immune-related pneumonitis is based on the use of immunosuppressants. Future research should be focused on finding predictive biomarkers for immune-related pneumonitis as well as optimizing its management.
免疫检查点抑制剂是一类新型药物，已被证实对多种癌症类型有效，但它们与一组独特的器官特异性、免疫相关的不良事件相关。其中，免疫相关性肺炎需要特别关注，因为它难以诊断且可能致命。越来越多的真实世界流行病学数据表明，免疫相关性肺炎比之前报道的更为常见。其诊断需要排除其他原因，并评估胸部高分辨率 CT 的影像学特征。免疫相关性肺炎的治疗基于免疫抑制剂的使用。未来的研究应集中于寻找免疫相关性肺炎的预测生物标志物，并优化其管理。
