Adverse reactions to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors can occur in any tissue and organ in the body, mostly within 4 weeks of treatment initiation, but also at any time after treatment initiation, including after treatment has stopped.
The median time to onset of side effects is broadly categorized as early toxicity (median time to onset within 2 months) and delayed toxicity (median time to onset beyond 2 months). Early toxicity typically includes dermal toxicity (median time to onset 5 weeks), gastrointestinal toxicity (median time to onset 7.3 weeks), and hepatic toxicity (median time to onset 7.7 weeks); delayed toxicity typically includes pneumonia (median time to onset 8.9 weeks), endocrine toxicity (median time to onset 10.4 weeks), and neurotoxicity (median time to onset 15.1 weeks).
Co-reviewed by Dr. Wang Zhen, Deputy Chief Physician, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute Dr. Xue-Tao Lai