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Around 45% of patients with melanoma are older than 65 years. In recent years, immunotherapy has proven very effective for metastasised melanoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the time trends in treatment strategies and survival in older versus younger patients with synchronous metastasised melanoma. We included all patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2019 from the Netherlands cancer registry. We analysed changes in first-line systemic treatment using multivariable logistic regression models, stratified by age (<65, 65−75, and ≥75). Changes in overall survival were studied using multivariable Cox regression analysis. A total of 2967 patients were included. Immunotherapy prescription increased significantly over time for all age groups (<65 years: 11.8% to 64.9%, p < 0.001; 65−75 years: 0% to 68.6%, p < 0.001; >75 years: 0% to 39.5%, p < 0.001). In multivariable analyses, overall survival improved for patients aged <65 and 65−75 (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92−1.00 and HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.89−1.00, respectively), but not in patients over 75 (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.91−1.05). In conclusion, overall survival has improved in patients with synchronous metastasised melanoma aged <75 years, but not in patients aged 75 years or older. This might be explained by lower prescription rates of immunotherapy in this age group.

Introduction: To compare the real-world safety profile of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitors between younger and older patients., Materials and Methods: All patients receiving pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab or durvalumab between September 2016 and September 2019 at Haga Teaching Hospital, The Hague, The Netherlands were included in this retrospective study. Immune-related adverse drug reactions (irADRs) were manually retrieved from the electronic patient files. The cumulative incidence of irADRs were compared between younger (<65 years) and older (≥65 years) patients using a Pearsons Chi-square test., Results: We identified 217 patients who were treated with at least one dose of PD-(L)1 inhibitor. 58% were 65 years or older at the start of immunotherapy. 183 patients (84.3%) received monotherapy PD-(L)1 inhibitors and 34 (15.7%) received chemo-immunotherapy. A total of 278 irADRs were registered. Cutaneous irADRs (53.9%), thyroid gland disorders (20.3%), and non-infectious diarrhoea/colitis (17.5%) were the most frequently reported irADRs. The majority of the irADRs were mild to moderate and no fatal irADRs were observed. 61 (21.9%) of the irADRs needed systemic treatment, of which 19 (6.8%) required treatment with corticosteroids. 18 irADRs (6.5%) were severe and resulted in hospitalisation. The cumulative incidence of cutaneous irADRs was different between the age groups: 45.7% of the patients <65 years and in 60.0% of the patients ≥65 years (p = 0.036). No statistical difference was found in the cumulative incidence of other irADRs between the two age groups., Discussion: Advanced age is not associated with immune-related adverse drug reactions of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)