Pembrolizumab-induced vitiligo in a patient with lung adenocarcinoma: A case report.
Vedrana BulatRobert LikićLada BradicReinhart SpeeckaertMarija Delas AzdajicPublished in: British journal of clinical pharmacology (2020)
Pembrolizumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor designed to block the interaction between programmed cell death-1 and programmed cell death-ligands 1 and 2. It shows efficacy in the treatment of patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer, among others. Side effects may involve immune-related adverse events, including vitiligo. We hereby present a 63-year-old Caucasian female with metastatic nonsmall-cell lung cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis showed programmed death-ligand 1 expression on 100% of tumour cells. The patient was eligible for immunotherapy and received pembrolizumab every 3 weeks as the first-line treatment. Three months after initiation of immunotherapy with pembrolizumab, depigmentation appeared on her upper right thoracic area of the skin overlying the affected lung lobe. Immunotherapy was generally well tolerated. Excellent response in our subject with complete remission during 16 months of follow-up potentially indicates that cutaneous immune-related adverse events, such as vitiligo, might be associated with increased efficacy of pembrolizumab in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma.
Keyphrases
- advanced non small cell lung cancer
- epidermal growth factor receptor
- squamous cell carcinoma
- small cell lung cancer
- single cell
- cell therapy
- case report
- induced apoptosis
- poor prognosis
- spinal cord
- cell cycle arrest
- stem cells
- oxidative stress
- diabetic rats
- african american
- cell proliferation
- soft tissue
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- pi k akt