The Journal of dermatology
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Immune-related adverse events (irAE) were reported to be associated with better outcomes in various cancers treated with the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab. Considering that their development depends on host immune activation, irAE may reflect antitumor response in mucosal melanoma (MM). This single-center retrospective study including patients with advanced MM receiving nivolumab monotherapy between August 2014 and September 2018 investigated whether the development of irAE was associated with clinical efficacy. ⋯ Although 16 patients (59%) experienced any grade irAE, including three (11%) with grade 3 or more irAE, there were no treatment-related deaths. These results indicated that the development of irAE may correlate with improved survival in patients with MM treated with nivolumab monotherapy. Further studies are necessary to confirm these findings.