Increased reporting of fatal myocarditis associated with checkpoint inhibitors

Researchers have published a paper in The Lancet showing an increase in reporting of fatal myocarditis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Myocarditis is an uncommon condition in which the heart muscles become inflamed. It can be caused by a viral infection or by a self-directed immune response.

Using the World Health Organization’s VigiBase, a database of individual case safety reports, the authors found 101 cases of severe myocarditis following treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors in 2017.