Case Report: Ipilimumab‐induced Multisystem Autoimmune‐like Toxicities Suggestive of Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada–like Syndrome

Abstract

SIGNIFICANCE: The emergence of new cancer therapies has dramatically improved outcomes in metastatic melanoma. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been the most effective treatment. Although, as a direct consequence of the immune dysregulation induced by them, adverse effects termed immune-related adverse events are observed in more than 60% of the patients. PURPOSE: We describe the clinical presentation of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome in a patient with concomitant systemic melanoma treatment with ipilimumab, a cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 blocker. METHODS: This study aimed to report a case of ipilimumab-induced vitritis, papillitis, and skin and auditory signs suggestive of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome. CASE REPORT: A 64-year-old woman with metastatic melanoma presented with bilateral blurred vision and hearing loss upon completion of three cycles of treatment with ipilimumab. Ophthalmologic examination revealed a bilateral granulomatous uveitis with intense vitritis and papillitis. The result of optical coherence tomography was normal, and fluorescein angiography confirmed the bilateral papillary edema. Ipilimumab was withdrawn, and treatment with oral and systemic steroids led to a rapid improvement in the ophthalmologic and auditory manifestations. Three months after initial presentation, the patient developed vitiligo and poliosis. CONCLUSIONS: Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome can develop in the process of immunological deregulation by ipilimumab in the treatment of metastatic melanoma and can correlate temporally with the efficacy of the drug in tumor regression. These observations may help elucidate the underlying mechanism of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome as well as the relation between tumor-associated tolerance and autoimmunity.

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