Persistent Response and Prolonged Survival Following Pembrolizumab Discontinuation Due to Long-Lasting Autoimmune Colitis in Advanced NSCLC: A Case Report

• Main Authors: Angela Damato, Loredana De Marco, Silvia Serra, Mario Larocca, Alicia Garcia Arias, Ermanno Rondini, Carmine Pinto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-06-01
• Series: Frontiers in Oncology
• Subjects: immune checkpoint inhibitors; pembrolizimab; non-small-cell lung cancer; colitis; survival
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.670415/full

Pembrolizumab is a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitor that has been approved for treatment of a wide variety of malignancies including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Immune-mediated colitis is a known adverse effect of pembrolizumab which can lead to the treatment interruption, although not compromising the control of the oncological disease. Herein, we report the case of a 59-year-old woman on pembrolizumab for advanced NSCLC which developed a severe and persistent colitis treated with infliximab for several months following anti-PD-1 antibody discontinuation. This strategy resulted in an improvement but not complete recovery of the gastrointestinal toxicity despite revealed sustained response and control of the oncological disease with prolonged survival over 24 months.