Alkylating Agent-Induced High Tumor Mutational Burden in Medullary Thyroid Cancer and Response to Immune Checkpoint...

Patients with metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) who progressed under tyrosine kinase inhibitors can benefit from an alkylating agent such as dacarbazine or temozolomide. We describe two patients with metastatic MTC who developed a hypermutant phenotype after alkylating agent treatment. This phenotype was characterized by a high tumor mutational burden (TMB) and a mutational signature indicative of alkylating agent mutagenesis (single-base substitution 11). Both patients received immune checkpoint inhibitors, with partial morphological responses, clinical benefit, and progression-free survival of 6 and 9 months, respectively. Based on the described observations, we suggest that a hypermutant phenotype may be induced after alkylating agent treatment for MTC and the sequential use of immunotherapy should be further explored as a treatment option for MTC patients with increased TMB.