Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplant Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Department of Pathology, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Oncologist. 2021 Oct;26(10):811-817. doi: 10.1002/onco.13832. Epub 2021 Jun 14.
Pembrolizumab, a programmed death 1 ligand (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitor, has elicited responses in mismatch repair (MMR)-deficient advanced solid tumors, leading to its agnostic approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017 when no other therapeutic options are available. However, there are still insufficient data on the response to checkpoint inhibitors in advanced endometrial cancer related to Lynch syndrome (LS) and, specifically, in uterine serous carcinoma, which is uncommon in LS. Here we report a case of metastatic uterine serous carcinoma due to a germline MSH6 mutation (Lynch syndrome) that was discovered because of a patient's tumor MMR deficiency. The patient was started on first-line pembrolizumab in 2018 and sustained a partial response. She remains asymptomatic and progression free for more than 2 years. Tumor sequencing showed a high mutational burden and an upstream somatic mutation in the same gene, p.F1088fs. Immunohistochemical staining was negative for PD-L1 expression. We discuss clinical characteristics of the patient, molecular features of her tumor, and the mechanism of her tumor response. We also discuss the duration of immunotherapy in her case. Our case demonstrated a partial response and a long-term remission from the frontline single-agent pembrolizumab in a woman with metastatic uterine serous carcinoma and Lynch syndrome due to a germline MSH6 gene mutation. Our experience suggests a potential significant clinical benefit of checkpoint inhibitors used as single agents early on in the treatment of MMR-deficient/high microsatellite instability/hypermutated uterine cancers in women with Lynch syndrome. KEY POINTS: Even though checkpoint inhibitors are effective in mismatch repair-deficient endometrial cancer, it is unknown whether the response to them differs between women with endometrial cancer due to germline mutations in a mismatch repair gene (Lynch syndrome) and women with sporadic endometrial cancer. In our case, a patient with Lynch syndrome and recurrent mismatch repair-deficient serous endometrial cancer achieved a durable remission on the first-line therapy with the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab and remains progression free after more than 2 years. Based on our observation and the data, suggesting the stronger immune activation in women with Lynch syndrome-associated endometrial cancer, we propose to use checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy early in the course of their treatment and stratify patients for the presence of Lynch syndrome in clinical trials.
派姆单抗是一种程序性死亡 1 配体(PD-1)检查点抑制剂,在错配修复(MMR)缺陷的晚期实体肿瘤中引起了反应,导致美国食品和药物管理局于 2017 年在没有其他治疗选择的情况下对其进行了无差别的批准。然而,在与林奇综合征(LS)相关的晚期子宫内膜癌中,对于检查点抑制剂的反应仍然缺乏足够的数据,特别是在 LS 中罕见的子宫浆液性癌中。在这里,我们报告了一例由于种系 MSH6 突变(林奇综合征)导致的转移性子宫浆液性癌的病例,该病例是由于患者的肿瘤 MMR 缺陷而发现的。该患者于 2018 年开始接受一线派姆单抗治疗,并持续获得部分缓解。她已经无症状且无进展超过 2 年。肿瘤测序显示高突变负担和同一基因(p.F1088fs)中的上游体细胞突变。免疫组织化学染色 PD-L1 表达阴性。我们讨论了患者的临床特征、肿瘤的分子特征以及肿瘤反应的机制。我们还讨论了她的免疫治疗持续时间。我们的病例表明,一名转移性子宫浆液性癌患者,由于种系 MSH6 基因突变,林奇综合征导致错配修复缺陷/高微卫星不稳定/高突变子宫癌,一线单药派姆单抗治疗获得部分缓解和长期缓解。我们的经验表明,在林奇综合征女性中,早期使用检查点抑制剂作为单一药物治疗 MMR 缺陷/高微卫星不稳定/高突变的子宫癌,可能具有显著的临床获益。要点:尽管检查点抑制剂在错配修复缺陷型子宫内膜癌中有效,但尚不清楚它们对由错配修复基因(林奇综合征)种系突变引起的子宫内膜癌患者和散发性子宫内膜癌患者的反应是否不同。在我们的病例中,一名林奇综合征患者,复发性错配修复缺陷性浆液性子宫内膜癌患者,在一线治疗药物派姆单抗的治疗下获得了持久缓解,并且在 2 年多后仍未进展。基于我们的观察结果和数据表明,林奇综合征相关子宫内膜癌中的免疫激活更强,我们建议在治疗过程的早期使用检查点抑制剂单药治疗,并在临床试验中对林奇综合征患者进行分层。