Narrowband ultraviolet B therapy for refractory immune-related lichenoid dermatitis on PD-1 therapy: a case report

Treatment with programmed cell death 1 inhibitors is associated with a wide range of cutaneous immune-related adverse events, with lichenoid eruptions representing one of the major cutaneous toxicities. We describe the case of an 81-year-old man with metastatic melanoma treated with pembrolizumab wh...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wilson H Miller, Khashayar Esfahani, Meagan-Helen Henderson Berg, Hanieh Zargham, Robin Billick, Kevin Pehr, Margaret Redpath, Osama Roshdy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-03-01
Series:Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Description
Summary:Treatment with programmed cell death 1 inhibitors is associated with a wide range of cutaneous immune-related adverse events, with lichenoid eruptions representing one of the major cutaneous toxicities. We describe the case of an 81-year-old man with metastatic melanoma treated with pembrolizumab who subsequently developed a delayed-onset generalized lichenoid dermatitis. After failing multiple lines of systemic immunosuppression, narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) phototherapy three times per week for 17 sessions resulted in a significant clinical response in his cutaneous eruption and was well tolerated. NBUVB is a safe, lower-cost modality that induces local, skin-specific immunosuppression without the toxicities of traditional systemic immunosuppressive agents. To date, this is the first report of use of NBUVB in immune-related lichenoid dermatitis resistant to multiple standard therapies.
ISSN:2051-1426