An observational study in Immune-Related Adverse Events, Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic and Sjogren Syndrome, sponsored by Hospital Universitario Araba. Recruiting at 1 site in Spain. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-03.
Sponsored by Hospital Universitario Araba · Observational
This study aims to identify a way to predict the side effects that some people with cancer experience when receiving immunotherapy. These side effects, known as immune-related adverse events (irAEs), occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues, like certain autoimmune diseases. At present, clinicians lack reliable tests to determine who is most likely to develop these reactions. The goal of this study is to determine whether substances in the blood called interferons (IFNs) could serve as early warning markers.
The study will include 300 people with cancer who are about to begin immunotherapy. To provide a meaningful comparison, the investigators will also enroll 40 individuals with autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Understanding how IFN levels differ between these groups may help clarify whether IFN patterns in cancer patients resemble those seen in autoimmune disease.
Participants in both groups will be asked to provide small blood samples at predefined time points during their clinical care or treatment. Researchers will measure the levels of different IFN types in all samples to compare IFN levels between cancer patients and individuals with autoimmune diseases, and within the cancer group between patients who develop irAEs and those who do not. The long-term aim of the study is to develop a simple test that can help clinicians identify patients at higher risk of irAEs.
Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are a frequent complication in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and they often resemble or exacerbate preexisting autoimmune diseases. Despite extensive research in the field, no validated predictive biomarkers of irAEs currently exist. Emerging evidence suggests that the IFN signature -long implicated in the pathogenesis of several systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs)- may also be upregulated in patients who develop ICI-induced irAEs, likely with substantial overlap among different IFN subtypes. Given these clinical and molecular similarities with SADs, it is plausible that IFN levels in peripheral blood carry predictive value for irAE risk, although the dominant IFN types in ICI-related toxicity remain unknown.
The INTER-AUTENTIC project aims to determine whether baseline IFN levels and their dynamic changes, measured in peripheral blood using a dedicated panel, can predict the onset of irAEs in cancer patients receiving ICIs. Supported by the Medical Oncology departments of six university hospitals in Northern Spain, this multicenter, observational, prospective cohort study has been underway since 2021. Biobank samples have been collected from ICI-treated patients before treatment initiation, at protocol-defined time points, and at the moment of irAE diagnosis (ICI cohort). The study seeks to identify the IFN subtypes with the most pronounced differential expression between patients with and without irAEs, and to evaluate whether IFN levels enhance the predictive performance of a model incorporating other clinical variables potentially associated with immune-mediated toxicity. A sample size of 300 cancer patients has been estimated for this analysis.
In addition, a second prospective cohort of 40 non-cancer patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, primary Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, and/or idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (SAD cohort) will be included. Since IFNs play a well-established pathogenic role in these conditions, this cohort will allow characterization of the IFN signature at key follow-up points (baseline, remission, and disease flare) and comparison with the IFN profiles of ICI-treated patients, regardless of whether they develop irAEs.
1,207 studies on the registry are indexed under Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; 405 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 300 is above the median of 151 across 280 observational studies indexed under Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic.
Browse Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic studies →Hospital Universitario Araba is the lead sponsor of 9 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
ICI cohort: Patients in the ICI cohort will be recruited from the Medical Oncology outpatient clinics of the participating hospitals. All patients diagnosed with a solid neoplasm eligible for treatment with ICIs will be considered for inclusion, using consecutive case sampling.
SAD cohort: Patients in the SAD cohort will be recruited in the outpatient clinics of the HUN Internal Medicine Service's SAD Unit, using consecutive case sampling.
ICI cohort:
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
SAD cohort:
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ECOG performance status
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Drug: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Patients without cancer affected by systemic lupus erythematosus, primary Sjögren's syndrome, progressive systemic sclerosis, and/or idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.
Administration of immune checkpoint inhibitors according to protocol
Occurrence of immune-related adverse event
any symptom, sign, syndrome, or disease caused by an immune-activating mechanism during the administration of an ICI once other causes such as an infectious disease or tumor progression have been ruled out.
Time frame: 48 weeks
Plan to share: Yes
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form
Started Jan 2024 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 35 months after the start.
Of 88 non-industry observational studies under Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic, half reached primary completion within 59 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 30 and three quarters within 212. This study's planned 35 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 110 studies reached it within 64 months; a quarter within 34 and three quarters within 126.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
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