Association of Preoperative Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy With Cardiopulmonary Instability and Organ Injury After High-Risk Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between prior exposure to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and the risk of postoperative complications in cancer patients.

DESIGN: Single-center retrospective cohort study.

INTERVENTIONS: The main exposure was treatment with an FDA-approved ICI within 6 months before surgery.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Exposure to ICIs and covariates was determined from the electronic health record. The primary outcome was a composite of postoperative complications, including prolonged pressor or oxygen dependence, kidney injury, or myocardial injury. Secondary outcomes included each subcomponent of the primary outcome. Of 7674 subjects with cancer admitted to the ICU after surgery, 247 were exposed to one or more ICIs in the 6 months before surgery. After propensity score matching, 197 ICI-exposed subjects were matched to 777 nonexposed. The composite outcome occurred in 70 of 197 (35.5%) ICI-exposed subjects and 251 of 777 (32.3%) nonexposed. There was no difference between exposed and nonexposed groups in the primary composite outcome (odds ratio [OR], 1.12; 95% CI, 0.80-1.58) by conditional logistic regression. Risk of the secondary outcome of prolonged pressor dependence was significantly higher in ICI-exposed subjects (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.01-2.67). Risks of oxygen dependence (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.75-1.73), kidney injury (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.77-1.71), and myocardial injury (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.00-3.10) were not significantly different. There was no difference between groups in the time to hospital discharge alive ( p = 0.62).

CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to ICIs within 6 months before high-risk surgery was not associated with the composite outcome of cardiopulmonary instability or organ injury in patients with cancer. The potential for an association with the secondary outcomes of cardiac instability and injury is worthy of future study.