Thirty-day mortality rates after immunotherapy initiation

The aim of this study was to determine the cause of death in patients who died within 30 days after the first dose of immunotherapy. The data of 1432 patients treated with immunotherapy in six tertiary referral hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. It was determined that 34 (2%) of the patients died within 30 days after the first dose of immunotherapy. Death occurred in all patients who received palliative therapy, and most patients (88%) received immunotherapy as second- or subsequent-line of therapy. The most common cause of death was disease progression and thromboembolic events. Preliminary results of the current study might give some clues to define the patient population in whom the fatal side effects of immunotherapy might be encountered.