Guan Hui, Zhou Ziqi, Hou Xiaorong, Zhang Fuquan, Zhao Jing, Hu Ke
Department of radiation oncology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Department of Oncology, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Asia Pac J Clin Oncol. 2023 Feb;19(1):35-50. doi: 10.1111/ajco.13688. Epub 2022 May 10.
Accumulating interest has emerged in exploring the toxicity profiles of the combination strategy of radiotherapy (RT) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Much remains unknown regarding safety and the potential increased risk of toxicity of a combined treatment. ICI prolongs survival but can induce immune-related adverse events as well. To increase awareness of adverse effect and support immediate and successful management, we go over the literature on the safety of RT combined immunotherapy strategy. Representative evidence relevant to RT combined with ICI in the brain, lung, head and neck, and pelvic malignance was reviewed respectively. Given radiation doses and fractionation, the irradiated volume, the timing of RT, and ICI would significantly affect the safety and efficiency of ICI+RT combination therapy, and no consensus had been reached about how to arrange RT delivery in the combined contexture, we went over the available literature and tried to address these challenges including the timing of RT, optimal dose and fractionations, RT target and target volume, and potential biomarkers to predict toxicity. We found even though RT+ICI combination therapy might augment toxicities, the majority of patients experienced grade 4 or 5 AE are relatively rare and no significant difference could be found between combination group and monotherapy group. Sometimes the acute toxicity with ICI is much less predictable and often life threatening and in some can give rise to permanent effects. Clinicians across disciplines should be aware of these uncommon lethal complications induced by ICI+RT. Early recognition is the key to successful treatment, reversibility of organ dysfunction, and in some cases even prevention of fatal outcome. If recognized early, managed properly, and no fatal AE occurs, the development of irAE indicates a good prognosis. It should be noted that nothing is known about potential late effects because very few studies have 5-year follow-up. The nature of irAE is the attack of activated immune cells on normal tissues. The nature of RT-induced AE is the DNA damage on normal tissue, which is related with the dose delivered and volume irradiated and the tolerance of surrounding normal tissues. The immune-modulating effect of SBRT may augment the damage on normal tissues. To maximize the antitumor immune response, 8-12 Gy/fraction is preferred when conducting RT. The available clinical evidence suggest RT of this dose/fractionated strategy combined with ICI have a tolerable AE profile, which need further validation by more clinical trials in the future. The combination strategy of RT with anti-PD1/PDL1 anti-body is supposed to be concurrent or RT followed by anti-PD1/PDL1 antibody. Although RT and ipilimumab combination sequence is controversial, ipilimumab prior to or concurrent with RT might be proper, which need more clinical validation. Under the concept of immunological dose painting, SBRT work as a trigger of immune response. It has been observed that SBRT of partially radiated tumors combined with ICI could induce similar tumor control compared with total tumor irradiation. The side effects of RT may be mitigated potentially due to the reduction of irradiated volume. The antitumor efficiency and safety profile of immunological RT dose painting+ICI deserve further investigation. Clinical predictive factors for irAE risk remain unclear, and more investigation deserves to be conducted about the irAE prediction.
探索放射治疗(RT)与免疫检查点抑制剂(ICI)联合策略的毒性特征已引发越来越多的关注。关于联合治疗的安全性以及潜在增加的毒性风险,仍有许多未知之处。ICI可延长生存期,但也会诱发免疫相关不良事件。为提高对不良反应的认识并支持及时且成功的管理,我们查阅了关于RT联合免疫治疗策略安全性的文献。分别回顾了与RT联合ICI用于脑、肺、头颈部及盆腔恶性肿瘤相关的代表性证据。考虑到放射剂量和分割方式、照射体积、RT时机以及ICI会显著影响ICI+RT联合治疗的安全性和有效性,且对于在联合治疗方案中如何安排RT实施尚未达成共识,我们查阅了现有文献并试图应对这些挑战,包括RT时机、最佳剂量和分割方式、RT靶区和靶体积以及预测毒性的潜在生物标志物。我们发现,尽管RT+ICI联合治疗可能会增加毒性,但大多数发生4级或5级不良事件(AE)的患者相对较少,联合治疗组与单药治疗组之间未发现显著差异。有时ICI引起的急性毒性更难预测,且常常危及生命,在某些情况下还会导致永久性影响。各学科的临床医生应了解ICI+RT引起的这些罕见致命并发症。早期识别是成功治疗、器官功能障碍可逆性的关键,在某些情况下甚至是预防致命结局的关键。如果能早期识别、妥善管理且未发生致命AE,免疫相关AE的出现表明预后良好。需要注意的是,由于很少有研究进行5年随访,因此对潜在的晚期效应一无所知。免疫相关AE的本质是活化免疫细胞对正常组织的攻击。RT引起的AE的本质是对正常组织的DNA损伤,这与所给予的剂量、照射体积以及周围正常组织的耐受性有关。立体定向体部放疗(SBRT)的免疫调节作用可能会增加对正常组织的损伤。为使抗肿瘤免疫反应最大化,进行RT时首选8 - 12 Gy/分次。现有临床证据表明,这种剂量/分割策略的RT联合ICI具有可耐受的AE特征,未来需要更多临床试验进一步验证。RT与抗PD1/PDL1抗体的联合策略应为同步进行或RT后使用抗PD1/PDL1抗体。尽管RT与伊匹木单抗的联合顺序存在争议,但伊匹木单抗在RT之前或同步使用可能是合适的,这需要更多临床验证。在免疫剂量绘画的概念下,SBRT可作为免疫反应的触发因素。据观察,部分照射肿瘤的SBRT联合ICI与全肿瘤照射相比,可诱导相似的肿瘤控制。由于照射体积的减少可能会潜在减轻RT的副作用。免疫RT剂量绘画+ICI的抗肿瘤效率和安全性特征值得进一步研究。免疫相关AE风险的临床预测因素仍不明确,关于免疫相关AE预测值得进行更多研究。