CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1674823
This article is part of the Research TopicCancer Immunity, Modern Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy: A Journey into Cancer Treatment InnovationView all 6 articles
Nivolumab-induced subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus in a patient with sigmoid colon cancer: A case report and review of the literature
Provisionally accepted
- Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, the First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used in the treatment of various cancers, but they may lead to multi-system immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) has rarely been reported, however, it can cause severe adverse cutaneous reactions, which then affect patients' anti-tumor treatment decisions as well as life and survival. This study presented the first case report of SCLE caused by nivolumab in the patient with sigmoid colon cancer, and summarized the clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria and specific treatment plans of this type of disease. Case presentation: After the treatment of sigmoid colon cancer with nivolumab, a 72-year-old male patient developed multiple well-demarcated erythematous annular plaques on the upper trunk and dorsal forearm, with erythematous borders and central clearing. The infiltrating erythema was observed behind the ear and in the occipital area on both sides, with thin scales attached and gradually increasing. Serum laboratory testing indicated an elevated anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) titer, strong positive for Sjogren's syndrome-A (SS-A)/Ro and Sjogren's syndrome-B (SS-B) antibodies. The pathological result of skin biopsy suggested SCLE. In terms of treatment, the patient's rash was significantly improved after suspending the treatment of nivolumab and adding methylprednisolone and hydroxychloroquine. At present, the patient survived and the rash was stable after seventeen months of follow-up. Conclusion: Through the discussion of this case, the typical characteristics, diagnostic criteria and treatment of DI-SCLE caused by ICIs are summarized in detail, which provides help for early clinical diagnosis and effective management of DI-SCLE caused by ICIs, and effective treatment is expected to prolong the survival period and improve the quality of life of the patients.
Keywords: Nivolumab, immune checkpoint inhibitors, Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, Drug induced lupus erythematosus, Sigmoid colon cancer
Received: 28 Jul 2025; Accepted: 22 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chang, Jianglin, Sun, ZHOU and Zheng. 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: Lixiong Zheng, 644955858@qq.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.