Complete response in a patient with lung cancer suffering from three pembrolizumab-induced immune-related adverse...

A 71-year-old man was diagnosed with squamous cell lung carcinoma with high expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PDL1) (cT4N1M1b stage IVA). He was treated with pembrolizumab, but 14 days later, he suffered from pembrolizumab-related retinal vasculitis as an immune-related adverse event (irAE). The symptoms were ameliorated by oral corticosteroids. We succeeded in switching to topical treatment as early as possible with the help of an ophthalmologist. Six months after discontinuing treatment with oral prednisolone, hypophysitis and thyroiditis occurred in six cycles of pembrolizumab. Finally, he suffered from three irAEs, but the antitumour effect resulted in a remarkable response.