ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: As COVID-19 became a pandemic, the urgent need to find an effective treatment vaccine has been a major objective. Vaccines contain adjuvants which are not exempt from adverse effects and can trigger the autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA). There is very little information about autoimmune endocrine disease and the ASIA after the use of mRNA-based SARS-CoV2 vaccination. CASE SERIES: We report three cases and also review the literature showing that the thyroid gland can be involved in the ASIA induced by the mRNA-based SARS-CoV2 vaccination. We present the first case to date of silent thyroiditis described in the context of SARS-CoV2 vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech. Also, we discuss the first subacute thyroiditis in the context of SARS-CoV2 vaccination with the Moderna's vaccine. Finally, we provide another case to be added to existing evidence on Graves' disease occurring post-vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. DISCUSSION: Adjuvants play an important role in vaccines. Their ability to increase the immunogenicity of the active ingredient is necessary to achieve the desired immune response. Both the Moderna and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines use mRNA coding for the SARS-CoV2 S protein enhanced by adjuvants. In addition, the cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV2 and thyroid antigens has been reported. This would explain, at least, some of the autoimmune/inflammatory reactions produced during and after SARS-CoV2 infection and vaccination. CONCLUSION: The autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants involving the thyroid could be an adverse effect of SARS-CoV2 vaccination and could be underdiagnosed.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , Graves Disease/etiology , Thyroid Gland/immunology , Thyroiditis/etiology , Vaccination/adverse effects , Adult , COVID-19 Vaccines/immunology , Female , Graves Disease/immunology , Humans , Male , Thyroiditis/immunologySubject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , Thyroiditis/chemically induced , Thyrotoxicosis/chemically induced , Vaccination/adverse effects , Autoantibodies/blood , BNT162 Vaccine , Biomarkers/blood , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Risk Factors , Thyroid Hormones/blood , Thyroiditis/blood , Thyroiditis/diagnosis , Thyroiditis/immunology , Thyrotoxicosis/blood , Thyrotoxicosis/diagnosis , Thyrotoxicosis/immunologyABSTRACT
Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) achieved response rates around 20% in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with 8% of patients becoming long-term survivors. Outcomes have improved with the addition of chemotherapy to immunotherapy or the combination of anti-PD(L)1 with anti-CTLA-4 agents.Areas covered: The incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients with NSCLC treated with ICIs varied across clinical trials and real-life studies. The onset of irAEs was 10 weeks. Toxic deaths from irAEs following anti-PD(L)1 administration resulted mainly from pneumonitis. Some irAEs such as rash and thyroiditis were probably associated with better clinical outcomes, though confounding biases exist. Investigations are on-going to determine ideal biomarkers to predict the occurrence, to screen for and to diagnose irAEs.Expert opinion: Prevention, anticipation, detection, treatment and careful monitoring are the five principles that characterize our management of irAEs. Distinguishing immune-induced pneumonitis from progression, pseudo progression, hyper progression, or other etiologies (COVID-19) can be particularly challenging in lung cancer due to the baseline vulnerable pulmonary function and thus requires caution and teamwork. We treat patients according to institutional and international guidelines and we only rechallenge them with ICIs after resolution of the AE and corticosteroid tapering.