A case of pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma with preexisting interstitial pneumonia successfully treated with pembrolizumab

• Published in: Thoracic cancer Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 129 - 132
• Main Authors: Sako, Masahiro, Nokihara, Hiroshi, Kondo, Kensuke, Mitsuhashi, Atsushi, Ozaki, Ryohiko, Yabuki, Yohei, Abe, Akane, Yoneda, Hiroto, Ogino, Hirokazu, Otsuka, Kenji, Uehara, Hisanori, Nishioka, Yasuhiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 01-01-2022; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Aged; Antibodies; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use; Apoptosis; Biopsy; Cancer therapies; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - drug therapy; Case Report; Case Reports; Chemotherapy; Cytokeratin; Humans; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Interferon; interstitial pneumonia; Ligands; Lung cancer; Lung Diseases, Interstitial - complications; Lung Diseases, Interstitial - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lymphatic system; Male; Medical prognosis; Metastasis; Mutation; Patients; pembrolizumab; Pneumonia; Pulmonary fibrosis; pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma; Radiation therapy; Tomography; Tumors; pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma; pembrolizumab; interstitial pneumonia
• ISSN: 1759-7706; 1759-7714
• DOI: 10.1111/1759-7714.14243

Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma is often refractory to chemotherapy and follows an aggressive clinical course. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of advanced lung cancer, and a few cases with pleomorphic carcinoma have been reported to show tumor shrinkage after therapy with ICIs. When treating patients with ICIs, patient selection is essential, and monitoring and management of immune‐related adverse events, including pneumonitis, are needed. We herein report a case of pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma with preexisting interstitial pneumonia treated with pembrolizumab, antiprogrammed cell death 1 antibody. Our report highlights important considerations necessary when treating advanced pleomorphic carcinoma patients complicated with interstitial pneumonia. We also review the literature regarding the use of ICIs in such patients.