CASE REPORT article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1565065
This article is part of the Research TopicImmune-Checkpoint Inhibitors and Immunometabolic Reprogramming in Cancer ImmunotherapyView all 14 articles
Case Report: Regenerative Hepatic Pseudotumor Induced by Tislelizumab in a Lung Cancer Patient
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jilin University, Changchun, China
- 2Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment for different types of cancers, providing significant clinical benefits. However, these therapies are associated with various immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including hepatic manifestations such as hepatitis, sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), and nodular regenerative hyperplasia. Among these, regenerative hepatic pseudotumors (RHPs) are exceptionally rare and poorly described in literature. Here, we report the case of a 66-year-old man with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who developed a hepatic pseudotumor during routine imaging following treatment with the anti-PD-1 therapy, tislelizumab. Despite the presence of a hepatic lesion on imaging, the patient exhibited no clinical symptoms or biochemical evidence of severe immune-mediated hepatitis. Following cessation of anti-PD-1 therapy and initiation of systemic steroid therapy, the hepatic pseudotumors stabilized without further growth. The findings suggest that ICI therapy may be associated with the development of reactive hepatic pseudotumor (RHP). Given the nonspecific and potentially misleading imaging features of RHP, biopsy is essential for accurate diagnosis and differentiation from malignant lesions such as hepatic metastases. Early histological evaluation through biopsy can prevent unnecessary interventions and guide appropriate management in patients presenting with liver lesions during or after ICI therapy. This case suggests a possible association between the development of RHP and tislelizumab treatment. The effect of ICI-induced hepatic pseudotumors on NSCLC progression is unclear and requires further investigation.
Keywords: immune checkpoint inhibitors, Immune-related adverse events, Non-small cell lung cancer, regenerative hepatic pseudotumor, tislelizumab, hepatic immune toxicity, PD-1 inhibitors, immunotherapy complications
Received: 22 Jan 2025; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Li, Zhang, Jin and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lanlan Yang, Jilin University, Changchun, China
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