Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Histological Quantification to Determine Lung Fungal Burden in Experimental Aspergillosis
09:52

Histological Quantification to Determine Lung Fungal Burden in Experimental Aspergillosis

Published on: March 9, 2018

11.0K

Successful treatment with nivolumab for SMARCA4-deficient non-small cell lung carcinoma with a high tumor mutation

Tomoyuki Naito1, Shigeki Umemura1, Hiroshi Nakamura2

  • 1Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.

Thoracic Cancer
|April 12, 2019
PubMed

Insights

SMARCA4-deficient non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lacks effective treatments. This case study shows nivolumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, significantly reduced lung metastases in a patient with advanced NSCLC, suggesting a promising therapeutic strategy.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Immunotherapy
  • Genetics

Background:

  • SMARCA4 is a key component of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex.
  • SMARCA4-deficient non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) currently lacks established effective treatments.
  • The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in SMARCA4-deficient NSCLC is largely unknown.

Observation:

  • A patient with SMARCA4-deficient lung adenocarcinoma presented with metastatic disease post-surgery.
  • The tumor showed no PD-L1 expression but had a high tumor mutation burden.
  • Standard chemotherapy regimens failed to control the metastatic progression.

Findings:

  • The patient received nivolumab (anti-PD-1 antibody) as fourth-line therapy.
  • Nivolumab treatment resulted in a significant reduction of lung metastases lasting over 14 months.
  • This represents the first reported case of successful nivolumab treatment in SMARCA4-deficient NSCLC with high tumor mutational burden.

Implications:

  • Anti-PD-1 antibodies, such as nivolumab, may represent a viable and promising treatment option for patients with SMARCA4-deficient NSCLC.
  • Further research is warranted to explore the role of ICIs in this specific NSCLC subtype.
  • Tumor mutation burden could be a predictive biomarker for ICI response in SMARCA4-deficient NSCLC.
Keywords:
NSCLCNivolumabPD-1 antibodySMARCA4SWI/SNF complex

More Related Videos

Lung Tumor Cell Recruitment Assay04:28

Lung Tumor Cell Recruitment Assay

Published on: February 26, 2019

5.9K
Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment07:29

Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment

Published on: April 22, 2019

12.2K

Related Concept Videos

Mutations01:39

Mutations

Overview
94.4K
Mutations01:35

Mutations

Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
44.2K
Ecological Succession02:17

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is influenced by the processes of facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. Facilitation occurs when early successional species create more favorable ecological conditions for subsequent species, such as enhanced nutrient, water, or light availability. In contrast, inhibition happens when early successional species create unfavorable ecological conditions for potential successive species, such as limiting resource availability. In some cases, later successional species...
21.4K
Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material...
39.8K
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
63.6K
Lung Capacity01:47

Lung Capacity

The air in the lungs is measured in volumes and capacities. Lung volume measures reflect the amount of air taken in, released, or left over after a lung function, like a single inhalation. Lung capacity measures are sums of two or more lung volume measures.
56.2K