Onkologie. 2026:20(4):235-240 | DOI: 10.36290/xon.2026.042

Possibilities of predicting immune-related adverse events in patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors: the role of autoantibodies

Jiří Nevrlka^{1, 2, 3}, Lenka Zdražilová Dubská^{1, 2, 4, 5}

¹ Farmakologický ústav, LF MU Brno

² Ústav laboratorní medicíny, FN Brno a LF MU Brno

³ Klinika nemocí plicních a tuberkulózy, FN Brno a LF MU Brno

⁴ Centre of Excellence CREATIC, LF MU Brno

⁵ Katedra laboratorních metod, LF MU Brno

Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors represents a significant advancement in cancer treatment. While this therapy restores the anti-tumour immune response, it can also trigger adverse immune reactions against healthy tissues and organs, known as immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Early prediction of irAEs would enable better management and potentially prevent premature discontinuation of anticancer treatment. This review focuses on autoantibodies, both pre-existing and those emerging after the initiation of immunotherapy. Current data suggest that organ-specific autoantibodies show the strongest correlation with corresponding irAEs: thyroid anti-TPO and anti-Tg; colitis-associated anti-integrin αvβ6, anti-KRT7, anti-RPLP2, anti-UBE2Z, and anti-GPHN; pneumonitis-associated anti-CD74, anti-SP-B, and IgM isotypes of anti-AChR, anti-CXCL10, and anti-cytokeratin 19; myocarditis-associated anti-EIF4EBP3; and neuromuscular irAE-associated anti-SmtAb, anti-titin, and anti-AChR. Conversely, systemic autoantibodies (ANA, RF, anti-CCP) developing during treatment have weaker and inconsistent predictive value for irAEs. Routine monitoring of autoantibodies during immunotherapy is currently not recommended; in practice, predictive screening for irAEs relies on clinical risk stratification and baseline laboratory monitoring.

Keywords: immune checkpoint inhibitors, immune-related adverse events (irAEs), autoantibodies, predictive biomarkers.

Accepted: September 21, 2026; Published: October 9, 2026  Show citation