A Real-world Disproportionality Analysis of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) Events for Durvalumab

Background: In the past few years, an increasing number of research studies have documented the utilization of durvalumab in the field of immunotherapy for cancerous tumors. However, there remains insufficient documentation regarding its associated adverse event (AEs). In order to enhance our comprehension of its toxicological profile, this investigation retrospectively examined the AEs linked to durvalumab using data from the US Food and Drug Administration adverse event reporting system (FAERS).

Methods: Using data from FAERS for the period 2004 to 2024, the reporting odds ratio (ROR), proportional reporting ratio (PRR), Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN) and mu-item gamma Poisson shrinker (MGPS) four algorithms were used to quantify durvalumab related AEs. SAS 9.4 was used for statistical analysis.

Results: We collected nonduplicated reported 17,629,340 patients from the FAERS database and 19,709 AEs cases in the target population with durvalumab as the primary drug of suspicion. There were 6 significantly disproportionate preferred terms (PTs) that fit all four algorithms simultaneously. The AEs commonly reported include death, radiation pneumonitis, pneumonitis, and lung disorders. Furthermore, durvalumab has been associated with additional AEs, such as metastases to the central nervous system and drug-induced liver injury.

Conclusions: The study revealed that durvalumab immunotherapy is associated with AEs including death, radiation pneumonitis, pneumonitis, metastases to the central nervous system, lung disorder and drug-induced liver injury. In clinical practice, it is crucial to be vigilant and prevent the occurrence of these AEs.