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Updated: Feb 25, 2026
Flow Cytometry-based Assay for the Monitoring of NK Cell Functions
Published on: October 30, 2016
Successful treatment with anti-programmed-death-1 antibody in a relapsed natural killer/T-cell lymphoma patient with
Jianping Lai1, Peng Xu1, Xiaoliu Jiang1
1Department of oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Background:
Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), nasal type, is an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis. Currently, there is no recommended standard therapy for relapsed NKTCL.
Case Presentation:
A 37-year-old woman with lymphadenopathy was diagnosed with NKTCL by biopsy of an enlarged lymph node on the right side of her neck. Enhanced computed tomography revealed no metastasis. For this patient, we performed continuous chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy; however, nodule biopsy showed metastases in her lower limbs 3 months after radiotherapy, which confirmed disease progression. Unfortunately, the patient' s temperature was persistently high and her skin ulcers could not be controlled well using multi-line treatment. Therefore, we attempted treatment with the anti-programmed-death-1 (PD-1) antibody, pembrolizumab. Surprisingly, the patient achieved clinical complete remission (CR) after four cycles of pembrolizumab treatment, despite having persistent detectable Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA. Other molecular monitoring techniques were unavailable for this patient owing to the retrospective nature of the study. The only adverse event was soreness of the upper limb joints and muscles.
Conclusion:
This relapsed NKTCL case treated with pembrolizumab showed that multimodal therapy including pembrolizumab would be partially or totally effective for relapsed NKTCL.
Insights
This case study shows that pembrolizumab, an anti-programmed-death-1 (PD-1) antibody, can be effective in treating relapsed extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), nasal type, even with persistent Epstein-Barr virus DNA.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunotherapy
Background:
- Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), nasal type, is an aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis.
- No standard therapy is currently recommended for relapsed NKTCL.
Observation:
- A patient with relapsed NKTCL, who had disease progression after chemotherapy and radiotherapy, was treated with pembrolizumab.
- The patient achieved a clinical complete remission after four cycles of pembrolizumab, with only mild joint and muscle soreness as an adverse event.
Findings:
- Pembrolizumab treatment led to complete remission in a patient with relapsed NKTCL.
- Treatment efficacy was observed despite persistent detectable Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA.
Implications:
- Pembrolizumab, as part of multimodal therapy, may be effective for relapsed NKTCL.
- This suggests a potential new treatment avenue for patients with refractory or relapsed NKTCL.
