Cimpeanu E, Ahmed J, Zafar W, DeMarinis A, Bardarov SS, Salman S, Bloomfield D. Pembrolizumab - emerging treatment of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma: A case report.
World J Clin Cases 2020;
8:97-102. [PMID:
31970174 PMCID:
PMC6962068 DOI:
10.12998/wjcc.v8.i1.97]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Few studies have addressed the efficacy of pembrolizumab in pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC), a rare, previously rapidly fatal subtype of non-small-cell lung cancer.
CASE SUMMARY
We report the case of a 69-year-old man presented with respiratory distress caused by a large left upper lung lobe mass diagnosed as PSC with programmed death-ligand 1 expressed on more than 50 percent of tumor cells. The patient was started on pembrolizumab and, after 5 cycles, there was a more than 80 percent decrease in the size of the tumor mass. Further decrease was seen at the end of 10 cycles. The patient has been tolerating pembrolizumab well, with no limiting side-effects. Fourteen months after first coming into the hospital, he remains asymptomatic.
CONCLUSION
Pembrolizumab appears as a viable emerging treatment for PSC.
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