Case study links Keytruda use during pregnancy to severe immune-related enteritis

Exposure to common cancer drugs during pregnancy may put babies at risk for developing immune-related inflammation, according to a recent case study.

Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is an immunotherapy drug often used with other cancer drugs to treat advanced and recurrent cancers such as skin, lung, head and neck, lymph node and bladder cancer. It helps the body recognize and destroy hard-to-treat cancer cells by strengthening the immune system.

In a report published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dutch researchers reported that a newborn who was exposed to Keytruda before birth developed severe immune-related enteritis.

Therefore, doctors note that prenatal exposure to Keytruda, especially during the second or third trimester of pregnancy, may increase the risk of adverse immune-related health events in newborns, including gastroenteritis and gastroenteritis.

Keytruda linked to gastroenteritis in infants

This case study describes the complications experienced by a 4-month-old infant who developed severe immune-related gastroenterocolitis after his mother received Keytruda injections to treat melanoma. Starting on the 16th, she received injections every six weeks for four months.^th

One week pregnant.

This chronic inflammation is similar to cases of immune-related gastrointestinal toxicity and colitis reported in adult cancer patients receiving the drug. The baby reportedly suffered from severe diarrhea and was unable to develop.

After ruling out other underlying conditions and causes, doctors determined that the condition was caused by Keytruda side effects. After 10 weeks of extensive treatment, the baby successfully recovered.

To date, at least 14 similar cases of fetal drug exposure have been reported, the researchers said. Most of these involved exposures in the second or third trimester leading to pregnancy termination or premature birth.

Doctors are calling for further investigation into the safety of Keytruda to treat cancer during pregnancy due to potential risks to better understand its effects on babies before and after birth.