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THURSDAY, Sept. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A single checkpoint inhibitor can be used to successfully treat two simultaneous types of primary cancer in a patient with Lynch syndrome, according to a research letter published online Sept. 25 in the Annals of Internal Medicine<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Benjamin Musher, M.D., and Ahmad Rahal, M.D., from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, present the case of a 55-year-old woman with extensive gastrointestinal cancer who had a family history of colon, uterine, and gastric cancer. A 5-cm mucosal lesion in the ascending colon was revealed in colonoscopy, and several additional liver masses were identified, which were confirmed as primary intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma rather than colon cancer metastasis.<\/p>\n
The researchers identified a deleterious mutation in MLH1<\/i>, which confirmed that both types of cancer were caused by Lynch syndrome. The patient elected to start treatment with a checkpoint inhibitor and started intravenous pembrolizumab. A dramatic and progressive response to therapy was observed for the tumor. The colon cancer was no longer seen during colonoscopy at 16 months after pembrolizumab initiation; no hypermetabolic activity was seen in positron emission tomography in any previously documented site of disease. No cancer-related symptoms were seen at 18 months of therapy.<\/p>\n
“This case emphasizes the importance of eliciting a thorough family history in patients with cancer and considering the presence of multiple types of primary cancer in a patient with an extensive family history of cancer,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n