Tofacitinib is Effective in Treating Refractory Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Hepatitis

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have improved metastatic melanoma outcomes; however, toxicities, such as hepatitis, can be dose-limiting or even fatal.1 Systemic glucocorticoids and antimetabolite immunosuppressive medications remain the mainstay of treatment for ICI-hepatitis, but options for patients refractory to these therapies are limited.2 Herein we present 3 cases of glucocorticoid-refractory ICI-hepatitis treated with tofacitinib, an inhibitor of Janus kinase (JAK) 1 and 3. These patients represent consecutive patients referred to the Massachusetts General Hospital Severe Immunotherapy Complications service who were determined by our experts to have treatment failure with systemic glucocorticoid and antimetabolite combination therapy between August 2022 and September 2023.3 These were the only 3 patients managed by the Severe Immunotherapy Complications service who were treated with tofacitinib for ICI-hepatitis during that time.