Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAEs) Institutional Board

Overview

Our field is experiencing an exciting revolution in the treatment of cancer. By harnessing and enhancing the body’s immune system using novel therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, we can reduce the amount of tumor burden in patients and, in a subset of patients and cancers, achieve long-lasting remission.

However, these therapies are often limited by the unchecked activation of the immune system which can result in immune-related adverse events (irAEs). This toxicity can affect nearly every organ system, ranging from a minor rash to severe dermatological, gastrointestinal, pulmonary, or cardiac complications. As more patients are treated with immunotherapy, there is a corresponding increase in the number of patients experiencing toxicity which highlights the urgent need to understand how and why immuno-toxicities occur and develop rigorous pathways for how to best manage them.

The Columbia Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAEs) Institutional Board, which is made up of expert cross-specialty physicians, is dedicated to researching and providing clinical service for IrAEs from checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapy for solid organ cancers, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, melanoma and many others.

Request a Second Opinion with Columbia irAE Institutional Board

Requesting an online second opinion can offer reassurance about a challenging diagnosis or help plan the most appropriate course of treatment. The Columbia Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAEs) Institutional Board has a world-class team of specialists, comprising oncologists focusing on immunotherapy complications, alongside experts in neurology, gastrointestinal health, cardiology, hematology, rheumatology, nephrology, dermatology, pulmonary, renal, and ophthalmology. These experts are available to offer remote second opinions to patients and health care providers, eliminating the necessity for travel to New York City.

Please contact Adam Mor, MD PhD at am5121@cumc.columbia.edu or Sarah Wesley, MD MPH at sfw2116@cumc.columbia.edu who will direct your inquiry to the appropriate sub-specialist from there.

Publications

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals distinct T cell populations in immune-related adverse events of checkpoint inhibitors.

Bukhari S, Henick BS, Winchester RJ, Lerrer S, Adam K, Gartshteyn Y, Maniar R, Lin Z, Khodadadi-Jamayran A, Tsirigos A, Salvatore MM, Lagos GG, Reiner SL, Dallos MC, Mathew M, Rizvi NA, Mor A. Cell Rep Med. 2023 Jan 17;4(1):100868. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100868. Epub 2022 Dec 12. PMID: 36513074 

Inhibition of IL-25/IL-17RA improves immune-related adverse events of checkpoint inhibitors and reveals antitumor activity.

Hu X, Bukhari SM, Tymm C, Adam K, Lerrer S, Henick BS, Winchester RJ, Mor A. J Immunother Cancer. 2024 Mar 21;12(3):e008482. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2023-008482. PMID: 38519059 

Osteoarthritis increases the risk of inflammatory arthritis due to immune checkpoint inhibitors associated with tissue-resident memory T cells.

Paiola M, Portnoy DM, Hao LY, Bukhari S, Winchester RJ, Henick BS, Mor A, Gartshteyn Y. J Immunother Cancer. 2025 Mar 21;13(3):e010758. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2024-010758. PMID: 40118498 

Association Between Immune-Related Adverse Events and Clinical Outcomes to Programmed Cell Death Protein 1/Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Blockade in SCLC.

Ricciuti B, Naqash AR, Naidoo J, Sehgal K, Miller A, Kehl K, Venkatraman D, Sands J, Lamberti G, Recondo G, Zhang J, Macherla S, Baig S, Walker P, Rangachari D, Gainor JF, Costa DB, Rizvi N, Sholl LM, Nishino M, Henick B, Farago AF, Awad MM. JTO Clin Res Rep. 2020 Jul 15;1(4):100074. doi: 10.1016/j.jtocrr.2020.100074. eCollection 2020 Nov. PMID: 34589955