A durable complete response to immunotherapy in a patient with metastatic alveolar soft part sarcoma

Recent years have brought the dynamic development of a new method of cancer treatment: immunotherapy. Monoclonal antibodies blocking the programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) are now widely used in the treatment of several malignancies: melanoma, lung, head and neck cancer, among others. The therapeutic benefit of immunotherapy in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) has not yet been proven. The exception is results obtained in the treatment of a rare STS subtype alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS).

We describe a case of a man with a diagnosis of metastatic ASPS in whom the use of immunotherapy with nivolumab resulted in excellent long-term clinical benefit and a pathologically confirmed complete response.

There are strong indications that immunotherapy may become the next important treatment method of ASPS.