Microbial Diversity Between Inflamed and Non-inflamed Skin of Patients With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Dermatitis

Overview

This study determines microbial diversity between inflamed and non-inflamed skin of patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced dermatitis. Skin has millions of bacteria. When treated with an immunotherapy agent, skin issues like a rash are common, occurring in up to 45% of patients. This study finds out if the type of bacteria on skin is different between the affected and unaffected skin in patients who have this treatment-related rash and also compares the immune cells found in the skin tissue to those seen in the blood.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To determine if skin microbial diversity (estimated by the Shannon Index) significantly differs between inflamed and non-inflamed skin from patients who have immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced dermatitis. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To investigate if certain bacterial species and strains are present in higher concentrations of inflamed versus non-inflamed skin of patients with ICI-induced dermatitis. II. To compare the immune cell phenotypes of inflamed and non-inflamed skin from patients who have ICI-induced dermatitis. III. To characterize the immune cell phenotype in the peripheral blood in patients who have ICI-induced dermatitis. IV. To elucidate any association between the skin microbial diversity and response to immunotherapy, characterized by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria (e.g., durable complete response \[CR\] versus partial response \[PR\] versus stable disease \[SD\] versus primary progressive disease). V. To ascertain if higher concentrations of certain bacterial species are associated with a response to immunotherapy, characterized by both RECIST and immune response criteria. VI. To evaluate associations between the non-inflamed skin flora and cancer subtypes (e.g., renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, lung cancer). VII. To examine if skin microbiome is associated with specific demographic characteristics such as age and gender. OUTLINE: Patients undergo punch biopsies of inflamed and non-inflamed skin and a blood sample collection.