Effect of external washing with self-made Xiaofeng Jiedu powder on expressions of serum inflammatory cytokines in patients with cutaneous adverse events induced by programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor

Treatment of cancer patients with cutaneous adverse events

Abstract

Wide application of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor for tumor treatment has led to increased immune-related adverse events (irAEs), particularly cutaneous irAE. In this study, we assessed the effects of external washing with self-made Xiaofeng Jiedu powder on the expressions of serum inflammatory cytokines in patients with cutaneous adverse events (AEs) induced by PD-1 inhibitor. Fifty-six tumor patients with cutaneous AEs induced by PD-1 inhibitor were randomly divided into observation and control groups (n=28). The control group underwent routine treatment with PD-1 inhibitor and oral administration with cetirizine, while the observation group received PD-1 inhibitor and soaking and fumigation by Xiaofeng Jiedu powder in the affected skin once in the morning and once in the evening. The levels of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, and immunoglobulin E (IgE) were detected before and after treatment. After treatment, the disease control rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P <0.05), and the observation group also had higher objective response rate [71.4% (20/28) vs. 28.6% (8/28), P <0.05]. The levels of serum IL-6 and IgE in the observation group were lower than those of thecontrol group, whereas the level of IL-10 in the former was significantly higher (P <0.05). Xiaofeng Jiedu powder exerts evident therapeutic effects on PD-1 inhibitor-induced cutaneous AEs.