JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Cancer immunotherapy-associated hypophysitis.

Side effects of immune checkpoint blockade are often said to be infrequent and usually mild. The uniqueness of endocrine immune-related adverse events is their non-reversibility, with incidence and prevalence destined to increase in the coming years, particularly if immunotherapy is used at earlier stages of neoplastic disease. Immune-related hypophysitis is one of these observed endocrine adverse events. It is often difficult to diagnose, sometimes occurring without specific symptoms. It can lead to irreversibly altered functioning of diverse endocrine glands. Radiographically, the differential diagnosis of hypophysitis includes pituitary apoplexy and primary and secondary neoplastic lesions. Immune-related hypophysitis is most common with single-agent anti-CTLA-4, followed by the combination of anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1, while occurs infrequently when anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 agents are administered alone. Hypophysitis with immune checkpoint blockade requires early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment. Patients can present with headache, visual disturbances or other endocrine-related syndromes or they can be asymptomatic. The manifestation of symptoms should prompt blood analysis and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Imaging is important to exclude secondary meningeal or parenchymal lesions. Management should include discontinuation of the immune checkpoint blockade, initiation of corticosteroid therapy and eventually hormone replacement therapy. Hypophysitis impacts treatment of the disease and usually requires long-term management of this irreversible side effect. A multidisciplinary team approach is merited to insure the correct diagnosis and management of immune-related hypophysitis.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app