Abstract
Primary malignant melanoma of the lung (PMML) is an exceedingly rare type of melanoma. Here, we report a case of an 86-year-old Japanese woman who was diagnosed as PMML with subcarinal lymph node metastasis. She was treated with intravenous administration of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, nivolumab. After the treatment, lymph node lesion regressed. The size of primary lesion was also controlled in combination with radiotherapy. In this case, two histological features were noted in the biopsy specimen that supported a response to nivolumab: membranous expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in tumor cells and dense scattered infiltration of CD8+ TILs. The clinical course of this case suggests that certain PMML cases may also respond to anti-PD-1 therapy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Jensen OA, Egedorf J. Primary malignant melanoma of the lung. Scand J Respir Dis. 1967;48:127–35.
Maeda R, Isowa N, Onuma H, et al. Primary malignant melanoma of the lung with rapid progression. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2009;57:671–4.
Gong L, Liu XY, Zhang WD, et al. Primary pulmonary malignant melanoma: a clinicopathologic study of two cases. Diagn Pathol. 2012;7:123.
Iwai Y, Ishida M, Tanaka Y, et al. Involvement of PD-L1 on tumor cells in the escape from host immune system and tumor immunotherapy by PD-L1 blockade. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002;99:12293–7.
Wilson RW, Moran CA. Primary melanoma of the lung: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of eight cases. Am J Surg Pathol. 1997;21:1196–202.
Robert C, Long GV, Brady B, et al. Nivolumab in previously untreated melanoma without BRAF mutation. N Engl J Med. 2015;372:320–30.
Postow MA, Callahan MK, Wolchok JD. Immune checkpoint blockade in cancer therapy. J Clin Oncol. 2015;33:1974–82.
Carbognin L, Pilotto S, Milella M, et al. Differential activity of nivolumab, pembrolizumab and MPDL3280A according to the tumor expression of programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1): sensitivity analysis of trials in melanoma, lung and genitourinary cancers. PLoS One. 2015;10:e0130142.
Peske JD, Woods AB, Engelhard VH. Control of CD8 T-cell infiltration into tumors by vasculature and microenvironment. Adv Cancer Res. 2015;128:263–307.
Erdag G, Schaefer JT, Smolkin ME, et al. Immunotype and immunohistologic characteristics of tumor infiltrating immune cells are associated with clinical outcome in metastatic melanoma. Cancer Res. 2012;72:1070–80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from the participant included in the study.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hirai, I., Tanese, K., Obata, S. et al. A case of primary malignant melanoma of the lung responded to anti-PD-1 antibody therapy. Indian J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 33, 173–175 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12055-017-0488-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12055-017-0488-z