Immune check-point inhibitors are now employed as single-agents in current 
practice for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while 
combinations of different inhibitors are being evaluated in clinical trials. 
Although the safety profile of these compounds, with particular reference to 
drugs targeting programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1), is 
generally considered manageable, peculiar, immune-related toxicities may onset. 
Areas covered: This review focuses on the immune-related adverse events (irAEs) 
observed during immune check-point blockade in NSCLC and their management. The 
authors report the incidence of irAEs based on the currently available data 
involving NSCLC and provide recommendations on the general approach to irAEs, as 
well as indications for the most relevant site-specific events. Expert opinion: 
Since irAEs may involve a wide range of organs and systems and are potentially 
reversible if promptly treated, early diagnosis should always be achieved; this 
might be particularly challenging when other potential causes of toxicity are 
suspected, such as infections or concurrent treatments. Finally, drugs active on 
the PD-1/PD-L1 axis appear to be generally manageable even when they are 
administered to patients with relevant comorbidities, provided that adequate 
clinical monitoring is performed.