Vol 15, No 5 (2019)
Case report
Published online: 2019-10-29

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Differential diagnosis of autoimmune pituitary failure and pituitary macroadenoma during nivolumab therapy in an NSCLC patient — a case report

Aleksandra Grzywna1, Robert Kieszko1, Paweł Krawczyk1, Katarzyna Kurek1, Izabela Drogoń1, Julita Poleszak1, Justyna Błach2, Kamila Wojas-Krawczyk1, Janusz Milanowski1
Oncol Clin Pract 2019;15(5):260-264.

Abstract

We report a case of patient with non-small-cell lung cancer with expression of PD-L1 molecule on 1% of cancer cells, who was treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and, during disease progression, with nivolumab immunotherapy. In the course of immunotherapy our patient developed symptoms of multi-axis hypopituitarism. Pituitary macroadenoma was diagnosed. In differential diagnosis, autoimmune inflammation of the pituitary gland in the course of nivolumab therapy was considered. After pituitary failure symptoms resolved, the immunotherapy was continued, with two-year remission of the disease.

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