The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle pieces

Immunotherapy, a primary anti-neoplastic treatment, exploits the patient’s immune system to kill neoplastic cells by modulating immune checkpoints such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 and programmed cell death 1. Despite an apparent anti-neoplastic efficacy, immunotherapeutic agents are often ac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Raffaele Pellegrino, Giovanna Palladino, Giuseppe Imperio, Antonietta Gerarda Gravina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Open Exploration Publishing Inc. 2024-11-01
Series:Exploration of Immunology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/ei/Article/1003171
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850130435458203648
author Raffaele Pellegrino
Giovanna Palladino
Giuseppe Imperio
Antonietta Gerarda Gravina
author_facet Raffaele Pellegrino
Giovanna Palladino
Giuseppe Imperio
Antonietta Gerarda Gravina
author_sort Raffaele Pellegrino
collection DOAJ
description Immunotherapy, a primary anti-neoplastic treatment, exploits the patient’s immune system to kill neoplastic cells by modulating immune checkpoints such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 and programmed cell death 1. Despite an apparent anti-neoplastic efficacy, immunotherapeutic agents are often accompanied by multiorgan toxicity, including gastrointestinal ones. This particular class of immunotherapy-related adverse events, mainly represented by diarrhea and colitis, necessitates a nuanced treatment strategy. Current treatments are primarily based on standardized severity grading systems to guide and proportion therapeutic interventions, ranging from simple behavioral modifications or conventional molecules (such as anti-diarrheal) to advanced biological treatments. Tofacitinib, a pan-Janus kinase inhibitor, emerged as a potential option for managing immune-related (IR) colitis by targeting hyperactivated T cells within the colic microenvironment. However, evidence supporting the use of tofacitinib in IR colitis is primarily derived from case reports and small case series, lacking robust randomized clinical trial data. While preliminary findings demonstrate encouraging clinical control of IR colitis with tofacitinib, further research is warranted to elucidate its efficacy, safety, optimal dosage, and treatment duration. Although there are some worries about its effects on cancer response and safety, current evidence indicates that tofacitinib could be seen as a possible treatment choice if other therapies with more robust evidence profiles have not been successful.
format Article
id doaj-art-eea866b22cdc4e7a883c8c62b3b5ef24
institution OA Journals
issn 2768-6655
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Open Exploration Publishing Inc.
record_format Article
series Exploration of Immunology
spelling doaj-art-eea866b22cdc4e7a883c8c62b3b5ef242025-08-20T02:32:42ZengOpen Exploration Publishing Inc.Exploration of Immunology2768-66552024-11-014677077910.37349/ei.2024.00171The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle piecesRaffaele Pellegrino0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5074-230XGiovanna Palladino1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7367-4175Giuseppe Imperio2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4182-2858Antonietta Gerarda Gravina3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8049-0115Hepatogastroenterology Division, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples 80138, ItalyHepatogastroenterology Division, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples 80138, ItalyHepatogastroenterology Division, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples 80138, ItalyHepatogastroenterology Division, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples 80138, ItalyImmunotherapy, a primary anti-neoplastic treatment, exploits the patient’s immune system to kill neoplastic cells by modulating immune checkpoints such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 and programmed cell death 1. Despite an apparent anti-neoplastic efficacy, immunotherapeutic agents are often accompanied by multiorgan toxicity, including gastrointestinal ones. This particular class of immunotherapy-related adverse events, mainly represented by diarrhea and colitis, necessitates a nuanced treatment strategy. Current treatments are primarily based on standardized severity grading systems to guide and proportion therapeutic interventions, ranging from simple behavioral modifications or conventional molecules (such as anti-diarrheal) to advanced biological treatments. Tofacitinib, a pan-Janus kinase inhibitor, emerged as a potential option for managing immune-related (IR) colitis by targeting hyperactivated T cells within the colic microenvironment. However, evidence supporting the use of tofacitinib in IR colitis is primarily derived from case reports and small case series, lacking robust randomized clinical trial data. While preliminary findings demonstrate encouraging clinical control of IR colitis with tofacitinib, further research is warranted to elucidate its efficacy, safety, optimal dosage, and treatment duration. Although there are some worries about its effects on cancer response and safety, current evidence indicates that tofacitinib could be seen as a possible treatment choice if other therapies with more robust evidence profiles have not been successful.https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/ei/Article/1003171immune checkpoint inhibitorscolitisimmunotherapytofacitinib
spellingShingle Raffaele Pellegrino
Giovanna Palladino
Giuseppe Imperio
Antonietta Gerarda Gravina
The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle pieces
Exploration of Immunology
immune checkpoint inhibitors
colitis
immunotherapy
tofacitinib
title The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle pieces
title_full The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle pieces
title_fullStr The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle pieces
title_full_unstemmed The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle pieces
title_short The growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: identifying remaining puzzle pieces
title_sort growing potential of tofacitinib in immune checkpoint inhibitor induced colitis identifying remaining puzzle pieces
topic immune checkpoint inhibitors
colitis
immunotherapy
tofacitinib
url https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/ei/Article/1003171
work_keys_str_mv AT raffaelepellegrino thegrowingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces
AT giovannapalladino thegrowingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces
AT giuseppeimperio thegrowingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces
AT antoniettagerardagravina thegrowingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces
AT raffaelepellegrino growingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces
AT giovannapalladino growingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces
AT giuseppeimperio growingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces
AT antoniettagerardagravina growingpotentialoftofacitinibinimmunecheckpointinhibitorinducedcolitisidentifyingremainingpuzzlepieces