Table 1.
Rheumatoid arthritis patient characteristics: demographics, malignancy, immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICI)
| N=22 (%) | |
|---|---|
| Age at cancer diagnosis, Median, years | 67 |
| Male | 6 (27) |
| Female | 16 (73) |
| RA disease duration prior to start of ICI, years | |
| >5 years | 10 (45) |
| <5 years | 2 (9) |
| Duration unknown | 10 (45) |
| Other autoimmune disease (AID) present | 7 (32) |
| Polymyalgia Rheumatica | 2 (9) |
| Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy | 1 (5) |
| Psoriasis | 1 (5) |
| Sjogrens/Sicca^ | 3 (14) |
| Ulcerative Colitis | 1 (5) |
| Sarcoidosis^ | 1 (5) |
| Psoriatic Arthritis^ | 1 (5) |
| Disease Activity | |
| Inactive | 19 (86) |
| Active | 3 (14) |
| Immunomodulatory therapy at start of ICI* | |
| No treatment for AID | 6 (27) |
| Systemic corticosteroids | 12 (55) |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 3 (14) |
| Methotrexate | 7 (32) |
| Etanercept | 1 (5) |
| Sulfasalazine | 2 (9) |
| IVIG | 1 (1) |
| Prednisone equivalent dose (mg/day) | |
| >11–20 | 2 (9) |
| 5–10 | 7 (32) |
| <5 | 3 (14) |
| Malignancy Type | |
| Melanoma | 7 (32) |
| Lung Adenocarcinoma | 4 (18) |
| Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Lung | 3 (14) |
| Merkel Cell Carcinoma | 2 (9) |
| Ovarian Adenocarcinoma | 1 (5) |
| Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck | 2 (9) |
| Urothelial Carcinoma | 1 (5) |
| Renal Cell Carcinoma | 1 (5) |
| Hodgkin Lymphoma | 1 (5) |
| Malignancy disease duration prior to ICI, median, months | 18 |
| Melanoma disease duration prior to ICI, median, months | 34 |
| ICI used | |
| Ipilimumab | 5 (23) |
| Nivolumab | 9 (41) |
| Pembrolizumab | 13 (59) |
^
One patient had inflammatory arthritis, diagnosed as seronegative RA/Psoriatic arthritis overlap, Sicca syndrome and Sarcoidosis
*
7 patients received more than one immunomodulatory agent simultaneously (i.e. methotrexate/hydroxychloroquine; prednisone/methotrexate)