Adverse Events Associated With the Use of Sipuleucel-T Reported to the US Food and Drug Administration’s Adverse Event Reporting System, 2010-2017

IMPORTANCE: Sipuleucel-T was the first therapeutic cancer vaccine approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010. Although almost a decade has passed since its approval for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), there remains a paucity of literature describing safety data in the postmarketing period. OBJECTIVE: To describe the postmarketing safety experience for sipuleucel-T. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this case series study, US reports for sipuleucel-T submitted to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System were searched and reviewed between April 29, 2010, and December 31, 2017. This system is a spontaneous safety surveillance database for drug and therapeutic biologic products. The analysis of 3216 reports and select case reviews were undertaken between February and November 2018. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Descriptive statistics were used to assess adverse event reports for sipuleucel-T. Empirical Bayes Geometric Means (EBGM) and their 90% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed to identify disproportionate (ie, at least twice the expected) reporting of sipuleucel-T–event pairs. Selected adverse events and death reports were individually reviewed. RESULTS: In total, 3216 reports were identified for sipuleucel-T, of which 2014 (62.6%) were serious. For all included reports, the patients’ median (interquartile range) age was 73 (67-79) years, and 3149 were specified to be males. Chills (n = 318), malaise (n = 196), pyrexia (n = 189), culture positive (n = 184), fatigue (n = 180), and nausea (n = 173) were among the most commonly reported adverse events. Infusion-related reactions (EBGM, 12.1; 90% CI, 9.4-15.3), infections, vascular events, and transient ischemic attacks (EBGM, 2.9; 90% CI, 2.2-3.9) were reported disproportionately. Among 249 deaths for which relevant dates were available, 128 (51.4%) were reported within 30 days of a sipuleucel-T infusion, of which 81.2% included a specified cause of death; of these 104 deaths, there were 37 neoplasms (35.6%), 25 cardiac disorders (24.0%), 18 nervous system disorders (17.3%), and 9 infections (8.7%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Reported adverse events were generally consistent with the safety experience observed in prelicensure studies and described in the sipuleucel-T package insert. Off-label use among overtly symptomatic men with CRPC, reporting bias, or lack of product effectiveness may have influenced the reporting of deaths within 30 days of treatment initiation. With this overview of sipuleucel-T experience, the present study serves as a resource for health care professionals and patients as they weigh the risks and benefits of treatment in the context of all available therapeutic options for CRPC.