Pneumonitis Related to Melanoma Immunotherapy

Clin Nucl Med. 2019 Jun;44(6):e392-e393. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000002549.

Abstract

Several regimens of immunotherapy have recently proven successful for multiple cancers, due to increased survival and quality of life. Rarely, immunotherapy with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed death-ligand 1 antibodies across cancer may cause immune-related pulmonary toxicity, with a low overall incidence, being particularly low among patients with melanoma and highest among individuals with lung cancer. In this vein, pulmonary toxicity is staged at 4 degrees according to the severity of the clinic and radiological findings, and its management is based on suppression of immunotherapy and administration of glucocorticoids. We report a case of pulmonary toxicity related to melanoma immunotherapy observed by F-FDG PET/CT.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / adverse effects*
  • Male
  • Melanoma / immunology
  • Melanoma / therapy*
  • Pneumonia / diagnostic imaging
  • Pneumonia / etiology*
  • Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography
  • Quality of Life

Substances

  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18