Efficacy of pembrolizumab for patients with both high PD‐L1 expression and an MET exon 14 skipping mutation: A case report

Pembrolizumab has become the standard first‐line treatment for non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with high PD‐L1expression. MET exon 14 skipping is a rare mutation typically found in older, female, and non‐smoking patients with NSCLC. Herein, we report the case of a 71‐year‐old non‐smoking...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Keisuke Baba, Hisashi Tanaka, Hiroaki Sakamoto, Toshihiro Shiratori, Junichiro Tsuchiya, Yoshiko Ishioka, Masamichi Itoga, Kageaki Taima, Sadatomo Tasaka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-02-01
Series:Thoracic Cancer
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-7714.12939
Description
Summary:Pembrolizumab has become the standard first‐line treatment for non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with high PD‐L1expression. MET exon 14 skipping is a rare mutation typically found in older, female, and non‐smoking patients with NSCLC. Herein, we report the case of a 71‐year‐old non‐smoking woman who was diagnosed with NSCLC in the left lung. EGFR mutation and ALK fusion were not detected. Because the biopsy specimen showed high PD‐L1 expression with a tumor proportion score of 95%, pembrolizumab was introduced as first‐line therapy, but resulted in no clinical benefit. The patient was subsequently administered chemotherapy with carboplatin and pemetrexed, leading to remarkable tumor shrinkage. A next‐generation sequencing panel analysis revealed a MET exon 14 skipping mutation. Thus, pembrolizumab might not be effective for NSCLC patients with MET exon 14 skipping mutations, even if PD‐L1 expression is high.
ISSN:1759-7706
1759-7714