AUTHOR=Damato Angela , De Marco Loredana , Serra Silvia , Larocca Mario , Arias Alicia Garcia , Rondini Ermanno , Pinto Carmine 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.670415

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.670415

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=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 lun 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 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 a sustained response and control of the oncological disease with prolonged survival over 24 months.