Poster Spotlight Session 14: Setting Expectations for Toxicities Related to I/O Therapy
Thursday, December 7 • 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. • Hemisfair Ballroom 1-2

Presentation: Immune Related Adverse Events in Patients ≥ 65 years vs. < 65 years with Breast Cancer Treated with Immunotherapy

Neelima Vidula, MD
Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Boston, Massachusetts

What is your presentation about?
We studied immune related adverse events in patients over 65 years of age vs. those younger than 65 years with breast cancer who were treated with immunotherapy at an academic institution. Currently, immunotherapy is approved for both early and advanced triple negative breast cancer. However, there is limited data on the toxicity of immunotherapy in older adults, so we sought to understand this better as it may inform clinical decision making. We conducted a retrospective review of patients over 65 years of age vs. those younger than 65 years with breast cancer who were treated with immunotherapy, and compared toxicity from immunotherapy and immune related adverse events in these cohorts. We observed some age specific differences in the spectrum of immune related adverse events and management by age, which we will share at the meeting!

What makes this topic important in 2023?
As immunotherapy is being used more commonly in the management of breast cancer, both in the early stage and advanced setting, it is important to understand age-specific differences in toxicity to help inform clinical decision making, which was the purpose of this study.

How did you get involved in this particular area of breast cancer research, care, or advocacy?
I am a breast medical oncologist and clinical investigator in breast cancer. My research has focused on investigator initiated clinical trials of novel agents including immunotherapy in breast cancer, as well as clinical research focused on genomics, biomarkers, and outcomes in breast cancer. I developed this study as the question regarding the safety of immunotherapy in older adults often comes up in my clinical practice and we have limited data on this subject.