Remote-onset alopecia areata attributed to ipilimumab
Pearson, D.R.; Lewis, K.; Alkousakis, T.
Cutis 104(6): E25-E27
2019
ISSN/ISBN: 0011-4162 PMID: 31939941 Document Number: 699440
Ipilimumab is a fully humanized monoclonal antibody against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and one of a growing class of immunomodulatory therapies for melanoma. The most common toxicities are immune-related adverse effects (irAEs), which manifest most frequently in the skin as rash and pruritus. We report a case of alopecia areata (AA) attributed to ipilimumab that presented 1.5 years after treatment. Because CTLA-4 dysregulation has been increasingly linked to AA, the incidence of this irAE may increase following US Food and Drug Administration approval of a higher dose of ipilimumab for adjuvant treatment of stage III melanoma.