Safety and efficacy of nivolumab as a second line therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a retrospective chart review.

AIM: To assess diseases outcomes and tolerability of real-life second-line nivolumab in a series of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients. METHODS: This retrospective chart review involved prospectively monitored patients (named patient program) treated with second-line nivolumab for mRCC at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb from February 2016 to March 2018. RESULTS: The study enrolled 30 patients, 5 of whom (16.7%) had a complete response. The mean ± standard deviation therapeutic response time to nivolumab treatment was 14.07 ± 8.92 months, with a minimum treatment duration of 2 months and a maximum of 24 months. The median duration of therapy was 17 months (mean: 15.8 months; range: 3-24 months), and 50% (n=15/30) of patients remained alive at the end of follow up. The most common adverse events associated with nivolumab were fatigue (26.67%; n=8/30), anemia (10.0%; n=3/30), adrenal insufficiency (6.67%; n=2/30: G1=1, G2=1), grade 2 pneumonitis (6.67%; n=2/30), grade 2 neuropathy (6.67%; n=2/30), rash (6.67%; n = 2/30: G1=1, G2=1), and hepatitis (3.33%; n=1/30). CONCLUSION: The present study indicates acceptable patient responses and tolerability of nivolumab in mRCC.

Skin autoimmunity might be associated with increased efficacy of atezolizumab in metastatic urothelial carcinoma: a case report.

Atezolizumab is a monoclonal antibody immune checkpoint inhibitor that binds to programmed death ligand 1 to selectively prevent its interaction with programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and B7.1 (CD80) receptors. We present a case of a 61-year-old man with metastatic urothelial carcinoma of the right ureter and urinary bladder. After gemcitabine/cisplatin as the first-line chemotherapy and surgery, the patient received atezolizumab 1200 mg i.v. q3w. Following the first atezolizumab administration, he noted vitiligo periorally, on his hands, legs, and the scalp. The patient's overall survival (OS) of >26 months and continuing response to atezolizumab treatment is considerably better than median OS in the SAUL study of 8.7 months (IMvigor211-like patients' OS 10.0 months). This case indicates that increased efficacy of atezolizumab can be associated with cutaneous immune related adverse events, reflecting the known Th17 polarization of these diseases and showing that individuals with cutaneous adverse events could benefit from PD-1 checkpoint blockade in the therapy of metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Chronic meningoencephalitis caused by Echo virus 6 in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency : Successful treatment with pleconaril.

Chronic enteroviral meningoencephalitis, most commonly caused by echoviruses, can particularly be seen in agammaglobulinemic patients. In spite of the fact that no specific treatment for enteroviral infections exists, pleconaril is an antiviral drug reported to be efficient against enteroviral infections in infants and adults. We present a case of a 42-year-old male, previously diagnosed with common variable immunodeficiency, who presented with severe chronic meningoencephalitis caused by Echo virus 6 and was successfully treated with pleconaril. Enteroviruses usually cause mild symptoms, but some strains can cause life-threatening conditions especially in immunocompromised patients. Although pleconaril production is unprofitable due to the rarity of severe disease, our effective treatment should encourage further availability of pleconaril.