Case report: Remarkable response to a novel combination of mitotane, etoposide, paraplatin, and sintilimab in a patient with metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Sep 8:14:1115893. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1115893. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options for metastases. However, new effective regimens are emerging for specific conditions in metastatic ACC.

Case presentation: We report a case of a 36-year-old man diagnosed with metastatic ACC who had a large left adrenal mass (158 mm × 112 mm) and multiple metastases in the liver and lungs. Genetic testing revealed a microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumor, a splice mutation in MLH1, and a high tumor mutational burden (TMB). After the left adrenalectomy, he received sequential treatment with a combination of mitotane, etoposide, paraplatin (EP-M), and sintilimab. His condition has been assessed as a stable disease since the sixth cycle of the combined regimen.

Conclusion: This case highlights the remarkable response of our patient's ACC with MSI-H tumor, MLH1 spice mutation, and high TMB to treatment with a novel combination of EP-M and sintilimab. Our findings suggest a promising therapeutic option for patients with similar molecular profiles.

Keywords: MLH1; MSI-H; PD-1; adrenocortical carcinoma; tumor mutational burden.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma* / drug therapy
  • Adrenocortical Carcinoma* / genetics
  • Adult
  • Carboplatin
  • Etoposide
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mitotane

Substances

  • Mitotane
  • sintilimab
  • Carboplatin
  • Etoposide

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81970683), the National Development Plan from China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (2021YFC2501600, 2021YFC2501603), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2020A1515010245) to Shao-Ling Zhang.