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Vol.60 No.5 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
The Evaluation of Three Cases of Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Successfully Treated with Atezolizumab
Yuto Suzuki1, Makoto Nakao1, Sosuke Arakawa1, Kohei Fujita1, Hidefumi Sato1, Hideki Muramatsu11Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kainan Hospital, Aichi Prefectural Welfare Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, Japan
Background. Although the anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 antibody atezolizumab is an anticancer drug for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, its efficacy in the treatment of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) remains unclear. Cases. We herein report a case study of three patients who received atezolizumab monotherapy for LCNEC. (Case 1) A 65-year-old man admitted to our hospital with complaints of lightheadedness had a tumor in left S6 of his lung and multiple brain tumors. The cerebellar lesion was resected, and he was diagnosed with LCNEC (stage IVB). After cisplatin (CDDP) and irinotecan (CPT-11) therapy, he experienced progressive disease (PD). He achieved a partial response when atezolizumab was started as a second-line treatment. (Case 2) A 66-year-old woman was diagnosed with LCNEC (stage IIB) by surgical resection of a tumor at the left upper lung lobe. After adjuvant chemotherapy using CDDP and etoposide (ETP), multiple lung and brain metastases relapsed. Chemotherapies were performed with amrubicin as well as CDDP and CPT-11; however, she experienced PD. Atezolizumab as fourth-line chemotherapy evoked a partial response. (Case 3) A 64-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of an abnormal finding on chest X-ray. A histological examination of a transbronchial lung biopsy specimen from the left upper lung lobe revealed LCNEC (stage IIIA). After chemoradiation therapy using carboplatin and ETP, he experienced PD. His primary and liver tumors shrank with the administration of atezolizumab. Conclusion. We encountered three rare cases of LCNEC successfully treated with atezolizumab.
key words: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, Atezolizumab, Immune checkpoint inhibitor
Received: March 13, 2020
Accepted: May 27, 2020
JJLC 60 (5): 390-395, 2020
