Pembrolizumab-associated chronic rhinosinusitis: A new endotype and management considerations

Standiford, T, Patel, NN, Singh, A, et al. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023; 1- 4. https://doi.org/10.1002/alr.23213

Abstract

KEY POINTS

• Patients treated with pembrolizumab experience an increase in paranasal sinus inflammation.
• Use of topical triamcinolone in carboxymethylcellulose is a treatment option for such patients.   

INTRODUCTION

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as a growing class of medications that harness immune surveillance mechanism to treat cancers. However, their use is associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs).

Pembrolizumab is a widely used ICI that targets programmed cell death 1 receptor (PD1) on the surface of T cells, thereby inducing T-cell mediated immune defense against cancer cells. The present study aims to investigate changes in paranasal sinus inflammation and development of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) symptoms in patients undergoing pembrolizumab treatment and further discusses management considerations for this unique patient population....

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