Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
School of Stomatology, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Front Immunol. 2024 Oct 24;15:1484915. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1484915. eCollection 2024.
The diagnosis and treatment of head and neck undifferentiated carcinoma (HNUC) present significant challenges. Herein, we present the case of a patient with advanced HNUC who underwent conversion surgery following treatment with a combination of pembrolizumab and nimotuzumab. During therapy, histological transformation from undifferentiated to sarcomatoid carcinoma was detected at the primary site. This case not only highlights the potential of immune combination-targeted therapy to reduce tumour burden and increase the surgical options for patients, but also reveals the complex alterations in tumour biology that may occur during treatment. It emphasizes the necessity for routine pathological assessments throughout the therapeutic regimen to guide personalised therapeutic strategies and optimise patient prognoses.
头颈部未分化癌(HNUC)的诊断和治疗存在很大的挑战。本文报道了一例接受帕博利珠单抗联合尼妥珠单抗治疗后转化为肉瘤样癌的晚期 HNUC 患者,行转化性手术的病例。在治疗过程中,原发部位的组织学检测到未分化向肉瘤样癌的转化。本病例不仅突出了免疫联合靶向治疗降低肿瘤负荷并增加手术选择的潜力,还揭示了治疗过程中肿瘤生物学可能发生的复杂变化。它强调了在整个治疗过程中进行常规病理评估以指导个体化治疗策略和优化患者预后的必要性。