Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab

The percentage of patients with cancer eligible for checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy has increased rapidly over the past few years and approaches 45%. As a result, more cases of CPI-related nephrotoxicity, including a rare subset with vasculitis, are being reported. To elucidate the clinical prese...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Noha Abdel-Wahab, Ala Abudayyeh, Omar Mamlouk, Umut Selamet, Jamie S Lin, Maryam Buni, Amanda S Tchakarov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-10-01
Series:Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Online Access:https://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/2/e000750.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850196216509366272
author Noha Abdel-Wahab
Ala Abudayyeh
Omar Mamlouk
Umut Selamet
Jamie S Lin
Maryam Buni
Amanda S Tchakarov
author_facet Noha Abdel-Wahab
Ala Abudayyeh
Omar Mamlouk
Umut Selamet
Jamie S Lin
Maryam Buni
Amanda S Tchakarov
author_sort Noha Abdel-Wahab
collection DOAJ
description The percentage of patients with cancer eligible for checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy has increased rapidly over the past few years and approaches 45%. As a result, more cases of CPI-related nephrotoxicity, including a rare subset with vasculitis, are being reported. To elucidate the clinical presentation of CPI-associated renal vasculitis and its possible mechanisms, treatment options and prognosis, we describe cases from a comprehensive cancer center and reviewed the literature for similar cases. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients with cancer from 2014 to 2020 who were diagnosed with CPI-related nephrotoxicity and underwent a kidney biopsy. We identified five cases of renal vasculitis: three patients were diagnosed with seronegative antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, one case with seropositive ANCA-associated vasculitis and one case was diagnosed with IgA vasculitis. Of these cases, four patients were receiving nivolumab, and one patient was receiving tremelimumab. All patients had microscopic hematuria, four out of five patients had negative ANCA serology, one patient had concurrent lung involvement and positive ANCA serology, and all had severe acute kidney injury with creatinine >4.50 mg/dL on diagnosis. All patients were treated by discontinuing CPI and initiating corticosteroids and rituximab. Three patients received plasmapheresis; two of these required renal replacement therapy including the patient with lung involvement. All patients after rituximab had a partial or complete renal response. Two patients died within 8 months of diagnosis due to malignancy progression. None of the patients had a relapse of vasculitis. We demonstrated that CPI can be associated with different types of renal vasculitis that are predominantly ANCA negative and manifest as severe acute kidney injury. Despite the lack of strong evidence, treatment similar to treatment of primary seropositive ANCA-associated vasculitis with corticosteroids and rituximab is well tolerated with favorable renal outcomes.
format Article
id doaj-art-cb311ca2a76f4c5cb497c931faeafe55
institution OA Journals
issn 2051-1426
language English
publishDate 2020-10-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
spelling doaj-art-cb311ca2a76f4c5cb497c931faeafe552025-08-20T02:13:31ZengBMJ Publishing GroupJournal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer2051-14262020-10-018210.1136/jitc-2020-000750Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximabNoha Abdel-Wahab0Ala Abudayyeh1Omar Mamlouk2Umut Selamet3Jamie S Lin4Maryam Buni5Amanda S Tchakarov62Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University Hospital, Department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Assiut, Egypt1 Division of Internal Medicine, Section of Nephrology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USADivison of Internal Medicine, Section of Nephrology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA4 Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women`s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USADivison of Internal Medicine, Section of Nephrology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USAUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA3 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas, USAThe percentage of patients with cancer eligible for checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy has increased rapidly over the past few years and approaches 45%. As a result, more cases of CPI-related nephrotoxicity, including a rare subset with vasculitis, are being reported. To elucidate the clinical presentation of CPI-associated renal vasculitis and its possible mechanisms, treatment options and prognosis, we describe cases from a comprehensive cancer center and reviewed the literature for similar cases. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients with cancer from 2014 to 2020 who were diagnosed with CPI-related nephrotoxicity and underwent a kidney biopsy. We identified five cases of renal vasculitis: three patients were diagnosed with seronegative antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, one case with seropositive ANCA-associated vasculitis and one case was diagnosed with IgA vasculitis. Of these cases, four patients were receiving nivolumab, and one patient was receiving tremelimumab. All patients had microscopic hematuria, four out of five patients had negative ANCA serology, one patient had concurrent lung involvement and positive ANCA serology, and all had severe acute kidney injury with creatinine >4.50 mg/dL on diagnosis. All patients were treated by discontinuing CPI and initiating corticosteroids and rituximab. Three patients received plasmapheresis; two of these required renal replacement therapy including the patient with lung involvement. All patients after rituximab had a partial or complete renal response. Two patients died within 8 months of diagnosis due to malignancy progression. None of the patients had a relapse of vasculitis. We demonstrated that CPI can be associated with different types of renal vasculitis that are predominantly ANCA negative and manifest as severe acute kidney injury. Despite the lack of strong evidence, treatment similar to treatment of primary seropositive ANCA-associated vasculitis with corticosteroids and rituximab is well tolerated with favorable renal outcomes.https://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/2/e000750.full
spellingShingle Noha Abdel-Wahab
Ala Abudayyeh
Omar Mamlouk
Umut Selamet
Jamie S Lin
Maryam Buni
Amanda S Tchakarov
Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
title Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab
title_full Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab
title_fullStr Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab
title_full_unstemmed Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab
title_short Checkpoint inhibitor-related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab
title_sort checkpoint inhibitor related renal vasculitis and use of rituximab
url https://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/2/e000750.full
work_keys_str_mv AT nohaabdelwahab checkpointinhibitorrelatedrenalvasculitisanduseofrituximab
AT alaabudayyeh checkpointinhibitorrelatedrenalvasculitisanduseofrituximab
AT omarmamlouk checkpointinhibitorrelatedrenalvasculitisanduseofrituximab
AT umutselamet checkpointinhibitorrelatedrenalvasculitisanduseofrituximab
AT jamieslin checkpointinhibitorrelatedrenalvasculitisanduseofrituximab
AT maryambuni checkpointinhibitorrelatedrenalvasculitisanduseofrituximab
AT amandastchakarov checkpointinhibitorrelatedrenalvasculitisanduseofrituximab