Case report: Long-term intracranial effect of zimberelimab monotherapy following surgical resection of high...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunotherapy
• Neurology

Background:

• Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) frequently develops brain metastases (BM), leading to poor prognoses.
• Standard treatments like radiotherapy (RT) for NSCLC BM can cause neurotoxicity.
• While targeted therapies exist for driver gene-mutated NSCLC, options for others, including those with BM, are limited.

Observation:

• A 65-year-old patient with NSCLC and high PD-L1 expressing BM was treated.
• The patient underwent surgical resection of BM followed by first-line monotherapy with zimberelimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody.
• The patient received 31 cycles of zimberelimab.

Findings:

• The patient achieved 24 months of progression-free survival.
• The patient also achieved 24 months of intracranial recurrence-free survival.
• This is the first reported case of zimberelimab's intracranial effect on NSCLC BM.

Implications:

• This case suggests that anti-PD-1 antibodies like zimberelimab may be effective for NSCLC with active brain metastases.
• Further research into the intracranial efficacy of anti-PD-1 antibodies in NSCLC BM is warranted.
• This finding could expand treatment options for NSCLC patients with brain metastases who lack driver gene mutations.