The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer Patients
Although pruritus may sometimes be a consequential situation to neoplasms, it more frequently emerges after commencing chemotherapy. In this review, we present our analysis of the chemotherapy treatments that most often induce skin changes and itching. After discussing conventional chemotherapies ca...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Biomedicines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/9/1/2 |
| _version_ | 1797543822789443584 |
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| author | Alessandro Allegra Eleonora Di Salvo Marco Casciaro Caterina Musolino Giovanni Pioggia Sebastiano Gangemi |
| author_facet | Alessandro Allegra Eleonora Di Salvo Marco Casciaro Caterina Musolino Giovanni Pioggia Sebastiano Gangemi |
| author_sort | Alessandro Allegra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although pruritus may sometimes be a consequential situation to neoplasms, it more frequently emerges after commencing chemotherapy. In this review, we present our analysis of the chemotherapy treatments that most often induce skin changes and itching. After discussing conventional chemotherapies capable of inducing pruritus, we present our evaluation of new drugs such as immunological checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies. Although ICIs and targeted therapy are thought to damage tumor cells, these therapies can modify homeostatic events of the epidermis and dermis, causing the occurrence of cutaneous toxicities in treated subjects. In the face of greater efficacy, greater skin toxicity has been reported for most of these drugs. A remarkable aspect of some reports is the presence of a probable correlation between cutaneous toxicity and treatment effectiveness in tumor patients who were treated with novel drugs such as nivolumab or pembrolizumab. Findings from these experiments demonstrate that the occurrence of any grade of skin side effects can be considered as a predictor of a better outcome. In the near future, studies on the relationship between the onset of skin alterations and outcomes could open new perspectives on the treatment of neoplasms through specific target therapy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:51:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1cf6740b7995459db1307e4414c94a5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:51:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-1cf6740b7995459db1307e4414c94a5b2023-11-21T02:06:56ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592020-12-0191210.3390/biomedicines9010002The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer PatientsAlessandro Allegra0Eleonora Di Salvo1Marco Casciaro2Caterina Musolino3Giovanni Pioggia4Sebastiano Gangemi5Division of Hematology, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood “Gaetano Barresi”, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, ItalySchool of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, ItalyDivision of Hematology, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood “Gaetano Barresi”, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, ItalyInstitute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 98164 Messina, ItalySchool of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, ItalyAlthough pruritus may sometimes be a consequential situation to neoplasms, it more frequently emerges after commencing chemotherapy. In this review, we present our analysis of the chemotherapy treatments that most often induce skin changes and itching. After discussing conventional chemotherapies capable of inducing pruritus, we present our evaluation of new drugs such as immunological checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies. Although ICIs and targeted therapy are thought to damage tumor cells, these therapies can modify homeostatic events of the epidermis and dermis, causing the occurrence of cutaneous toxicities in treated subjects. In the face of greater efficacy, greater skin toxicity has been reported for most of these drugs. A remarkable aspect of some reports is the presence of a probable correlation between cutaneous toxicity and treatment effectiveness in tumor patients who were treated with novel drugs such as nivolumab or pembrolizumab. Findings from these experiments demonstrate that the occurrence of any grade of skin side effects can be considered as a predictor of a better outcome. In the near future, studies on the relationship between the onset of skin alterations and outcomes could open new perspectives on the treatment of neoplasms through specific target therapy.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/9/1/2prurituscancerskinadverse drug reactionchemotherapyimmunological checkpoint inhibitors |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Allegra Eleonora Di Salvo Marco Casciaro Caterina Musolino Giovanni Pioggia Sebastiano Gangemi The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer Patients Biomedicines pruritus cancer skin adverse drug reaction chemotherapy immunological checkpoint inhibitors |
| title | The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer Patients |
| title_full | The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer Patients |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer Patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer Patients |
| title_short | The Impact of Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors and Targeted Therapy on Chronic Pruritus in Cancer Patients |
| title_sort | impact of immunological checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapy on chronic pruritus in cancer patients |
| topic | pruritus cancer skin adverse drug reaction chemotherapy immunological checkpoint inhibitors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/9/1/2 |
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