Researchers led by investigators at Mass General Brigham have published valuable information about a rare but serious complication of anti-cancer immunotherapy, providing the first large-scale description of its risk factors and clinical course, and underscoring the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.

More than half of patients in a Phase III clinical trial who received a limited course of the experimental monoclonal antibody ianalumab for primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), an autoimmune disorder that can cause life-threatening bleeding, were able to maintain safe platelet counts without serious bleeding episodes for at least one year.