Pathogenesis of Checkpoint-Induced Arthritis

Moderator(s)

• 

  Cassandra Calabrese, DO

  Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Speaker(s)

• 

  Laura Donlin, PhD

  Hospital for Special Surgery
• 

  Lukas Flatz, MD

  Kantonsspital St.Gallen

PD-1 and CTLA-4 are essential checkpoints in T cells. Antibodies that block these checkpoints augment anti-tumor immune responses and represent a powerful therapeutic paradigm. In 2020, more than 400,000 patients will be treated with checkpoint inhibitors, highlighting the drugs' emerging potential in cancer immunotherapy. Unfortunately, 30-40 percent of these patients will develop immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including autoimmunity. As such, it is important to elucidate the mechanisms of immune-tolerance breakdown, which lead to excessive inflammation in cancer patients treated with immune-checkpoint inhibitors. At this session, faculty will review the current mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of these adverse events and suggest approaches to translate that knowledge into clinical modalities.

Learning Objectives:

• Review the molecular mechanism underlying immune-related adverse events associated with checkpoint blockade
• Discuss the mechanism of primary autoimmunity through the studies of cancer patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors
• Discuss approaches to prevent organ-specific autoimmunity in the context of immune response to malignancy

Presentations:

• 4:15 PM – 4:40 PM ET

  Molecular Mechanism Underlying Immune-related Adverse Events
  Lukas Flatz, MD – Kantonsspital St.Gallen
• 4:40 PM – 5:05 PM ET

  Cellular Profiling of Joints Affected by CI-induced Arthritis
  Laura Donlin, PhD – Hospital for Special Surgery
• 5:00 PM – 5:15 PM ET

  Q&A