Immune-induced pneumonia in patients with advanced solid tumors treated with immunotherapy: a real-world assessment

Aim: To investigate the computed tomography (CT) and clinical characteristics of immunotherapy-induced pneumonitis (IIP) in patients with advanced solid tumors. Patients & methods: CT and clinical data of 254 patients with advanced solid tumors treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors in our hospital were collected retrospectively. Results: The incidences of IIP in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, lymphoma and gastrointestinal tumors were 19% (19/100), 9.8% (6/61) and 6.2% (4/65), respectively. The median onset time for all 31 IIP patients was 44 days (interquartile range: 24-65). Most IIP patients (21/31) had grade 1-2 disease. Multifocal ground-glass opacities (seen in 21/31 patients) were the main CT findings of IIP. Conclusion: Patients should be alerted to the risk of IIP, an adverse reaction that has a relatively low incidence but which is sometimes life-threatening.The study aimed to investigate the clinical and computed tomography (CT) features of immunotherapy-induced pneumonitis (IIP) in patients with advanced solid tumors. To describe these characteristics, clinical and CT information of 254 patients with advanced solid tumors who were treated with drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors were collected. The incidences of IIP in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, lymphoma and gastrointestinal tumors were 19% (19/100), 9.8% (6/61) and 6.2% (4/65), respectively. The median time taken to develop IIP for all 31 IIP patients was 44 days. Most IIP patients had mild or moderate (grade 1–2) disease. The main CT findings of IIP were abnormalities called multifocal ground-glass opacities (21/31). Most IIP patients can recover well after glucocorticoid discontinuation. This real-world study was done to raise physicians’ awareness of the possible development of IIP, an adverse reaction with a relatively low incidence but which is sometimes life-threatening, to highlight the variety of CT manifestations, and to provide advice on regulating the timing and method of glucocorticoid therapy.