Toripalimab combined with anlotinib for recurrent extensive‑stage small‑cell lung cancer: A case report

The 5-year survival rate of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) is <8%; therefore there is an urgent need for more effective treatment. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have been widely used to treat lung cancer, the efficacy of anti-programmed death 1 therapy for SCLC is limited due to the abnormal vascular state of the tumour microenvironment. A 66-year-old man who was diagnosed with ES-SCLC and performance status (PS) 3 received first-line chemotherapy but experienced recurrence. Repeated stage IV thrombocytopenia hindered completion of second-line chemotherapy. Therefore, the patient was treated with a combination of toripalimab and anlotinib. After two cycles, the patient showed a partial response to therapy; a long-lasting curative benefit extending 20 months was achieved with PS 1. This novel and effective combined immune/anti-angiogenic therapy paradigm for patients with relapsed ES-SCLC and poor PS requires prospective clinical trials.