Primary leptomeningeal melanomatosis successfully treated with PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab: A case report

Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Dec 11;99(50):e22928. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000022928.

Abstract

Rationale: Primary leptomeningeal melanoma is an extremely rare disease of the central nervous system. There are no standard treatment protocols with a poor prognosis in very few reported cases. Immunotherapy in primary brain melanoma has not been successfully applied so far.

Patient concerns: We describe a female patient 72-year-old diagnosed in the Neurosurgery Department which presented with generalized seizures.

Diagnoses: Histological examination confirmed atypical melanocytes immunohistochemically positive for melan A, HMB45 and S-100 protein in the meninges, BRAF V600E negative. Dermatological, ophthalmological examinations, and 18-FDG PET/CT were negative.

Interventions: The patient was successfully treated with pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg every 3 weeks for 2 years.

Outcomes: The disease was stable for 2 years and the patient had no significant toxicity.

Lessons: Our report describes durable intracranial tumor response suggesting the efficacy of PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab for central nervous system primary leptomeningeal melanoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / therapeutic use*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • MART-1 Antigen / metabolism
  • Melanoma / diagnosis
  • Melanoma / drug therapy*
  • Melanoma-Specific Antigens / metabolism
  • Meningeal Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / antagonists & inhibitors
  • S100 Proteins / metabolism
  • Seizures / etiology
  • Treatment Outcome
  • gp100 Melanoma Antigen

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • MART-1 Antigen
  • Melanoma-Specific Antigens
  • PMEL protein, human
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor
  • S100 Proteins
  • gp100 Melanoma Antigen
  • pembrolizumab