Perimyocarditis Associated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Medicina (Kaunas). 2024 Jan 28;60(2):224. doi: 10.3390/medicina60020224.

Abstract

Patient prognoses have been significantly enhanced by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), altering the standard of care in cancer treatment. These novel antibodies have become a mainstay of care for metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) patients. Several types of adverse events related to ICIs have been identified and documented as a result of the launch of these innovative medicines. We present here a 74-year-old female patient with a stage IV lung adenocarcinoma, treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab, who developed perimyocarditis two weeks after receiving the third cycle of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The patient was diagnosed using troponin levels, computed tomography (CT) angiography, and echocardiography. After hospitalization, her cardiac condition was successfully resolved with corticosteroids, colchicine, and symptomatic treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the rarest cases to be reported of perimyocarditis as a toxicity of immunotherapy in a patient treated for adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Keywords: Opdivo® (nivolumab); Yervoy® (ipilimumab); immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICIs); lung cancer; myocarditis; pericarditis; perimyocarditis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological* / adverse effects
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* / drug therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
  • Ipilimumab / adverse effects
  • Lung Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Nivolumab / adverse effects

Substances

  • Nivolumab
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
  • Ipilimumab
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.