Ocular surface toxicities associated with immunotherapy under-reported

As the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of cancer continues to expand, a better understanding of the ocular toxicities secondary to their use is needed. In this study, researchers reviewed 29 studies reporting on immune-related adverse events affecting the ocular surface and found dry eye disease (DED), conjunctivitis, and keratitis to be the most commonly reported.

A review of 9 clinical trials found that DED incidence ranged from 1% to 4%, with most ocular surface-related adverse events ranging in severity from mild to moderate.

“Further work remains to be done to investigate the full breadth of ocular surface pathologies and the molecular mechanisms by which these toxicities occur,” the authors concluded.

Reference
Park RB, Jain S, Han H, Park J. Ocular surface disease associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Ocul Surf. 2021;20:115-129. doi: 10.1016/j.jtos.2021.02.004. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33610743.