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Endocrine Abstracts (2022) 81 P464 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.81.P464

1Endocrinology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 2Oncology Unit, Oncology Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy


Objective: Destructive thyroiditis is the most common endocrine immune related adverse event (iRAEs) in patients treated with anti-PD1/PD-L1 agents. Given its self-limited course, current guidelines recommend no treatment for this iRAE. Nevertheless in patients with enlarged thyroid volume and a poor performance status, thyrotoxicosis may be particularly severe and harmful. Aim of the study is to evaluate if steroid treatment might be useful in improving thyrotoxicosis in subjects with a poor performance status.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study, comparing the course of thyrotoxicosis of 6 patients treated with oral prednisone at the dosage of 25 mg/d (tapered to discontinuation in three weeks) and an enlarged thyroid volume to that of 12 patients with similar thyroid volume who were left untreated.

Results: The levels of thyroid hormones were lower in subjects treated with prednisone compared to those untreated at time 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 60 and 90 days (P<0.05 at each time). The median time to remission of thyrotoxicosis was 24 days in patients treated with steroids and 92 days in untreated patients (P<0.001). At 6 months, the rate of evolution to hypothyroidism was similar in the 2 groups (5/6 in steroid group vs 9/12 in untreated group, P=0.74) and no difference was found in tumor progression (P=0.89).

Conclsions: A short period of prednisone therapy is useful to restore more quickly euthyroidism in patients with a poor performance status and a severe destructive thyrotoxicosis induced by PD-1 blockade. This treatment does not impair the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Volume 81

European Congress of Endocrinology 2022

Milan, Italy
21 May 2022 - 24 May 2022

European Society of Endocrinology 

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