Successful immunotherapy and irradiation in a HIV-positive patient with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma

This case report presents a HIV-positive 60-year old male with Merkel cell carcinoma of his right forearm and pulmonary sarcoidosis, who, after excisions and irradiations of the primary tumour site and subsequent lymph node metastases developed distant metastases. He received radiotherapy to symptom...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Annett Linge, Ricarda Rauschenberg, Sophia Blum, Petra Spornraft-Ragaller, Friedegund Meier, Esther G.C. Troost
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2019-02-01
Series:Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405630818301162
Description
Summary:This case report presents a HIV-positive 60-year old male with Merkel cell carcinoma of his right forearm and pulmonary sarcoidosis, who, after excisions and irradiations of the primary tumour site and subsequent lymph node metastases developed distant metastases. He received radiotherapy to symptomatic mediastinal lymph node metastases followed by Doxorubicin and, after two cycles, by the PD-1 inhibitor Pembrolizumab due to mixed response. Re-staging showed a para-mediastinal, radiotherapy-induced pneumonitis, which was treated by prednisolone due to clinical symptoms. In September 2017, the patient developed a solitary lymph node metastasis next to the right atrium, for which he received stereotactic radiotherapy. The systemic treatment with Pembrolizumab was replaced by the PD-L1 inhibitor Avelumab and is being continued since. The patient has been in complete remission for one year now and the HIV-infection is well-controlled. Keywords: Merkel cell carcinoma, Avelumab, Immunotherapy, Pembrolizumab, Immune checkpoint inhibition, Radiotherapy, HIV, Sarcoidosis
ISSN:2405-6308