A case of large-cell lung carcinoma successfully treated with pembrolizumab but complicated with cholangitis

Ryunosuke Ooi; Kazunori Tobino; Mitsukuni Sakabe; Takafumi Kawabata; Yuri Hiramatsu; Takuto Sueyasu; Kohei Yoshimine

doi:10.1016/j.rmcr.2020.101197

A case of large-cell lung carcinoma successfully treated with pembrolizumab but complicated with cholangitis

Respir Med Case Rep. 2020 Aug 25:31:101197. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2020.101197. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Ryunosuke Ooi¹, Kazunori Tobino^{1

2}, Mitsukuni Sakabe¹, Takafumi Kawabata¹, Yuri Hiramatsu¹, Takuto Sueyasu¹, Kohei Yoshimine¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Iizuka Hospital, 3-83 Yoshiomachi, Iizuka, Fukuoka, 820-0018, Japan.
² Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.

Abstract

Large-cell carcinoma (LCC) of the lung is defined as an undifferentiated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and accounts for approximately 7.5% of lung cancers. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) may be effective for LCC, but there has been no firm evidence due to its low frequency. We herein report an 80-year-old woman with LCC of the lung who was successfully treated with pembrolizumab but developed sclerosing cholangitis as an immune-related adverse event. This case highlights the efficacy of ICIs for LCC as well as the importance of the immediate and detailed management of ICI-related sclerosing cholangitis.

Keywords: Cholangitis; Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Large cell carcinoma; Pembrolizumab.

Publication types

Case Reports