ArticleThoracic cancer2020
Histologic transformation of lung cancer during pembrolizumab therapy: A case report.
Article in Thoracic cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- [Histological Transformation from Non-small Cell Lung Cancer to Small Cell Lung Cancer Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: A Case Report and Literature Review].Zhongguo fei ai za zhi = Chinese journal of lung cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Review
- Case Report: transformation to SCLC from EGFR-mutated squamous cell lung carcinoma during osimertinib treatment.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- p53 aberrant expression is pervasive in pleomorphic carcinomas of the lung and a sensitive diagnostic adjunct for biopsy specimens.Diagnostic pathology · 2025Article
- [Case Report: Histological Transformation to Atypical Carcinoid in RET Fusion-positive NSCLC Following Immune Therapy Resistance].Zhongguo fei ai za zhi = Chinese journal of lung cancer · 2025Article
- Overcoming resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitor in non-small cell lung cancer: the promise of combination therapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Mitochondrial VDAC1 Silencing in Urethane-Induced Lung Cancer Inhibits Tumor Growth and Alters Cancer Oncogenic Properties.Cancers · 2024Article
- Potential therapeutic option for EGFR-mutant small cell lung cancer transformation: a case report and literature review.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Histological transformation into SCLC: An important resistance mechanism of NSCLC upon immunotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Conversion therapy with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy achieves a pathological complete response in stage IIIC NSCLC.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Histomorphological transformation from non-small cell lung carcinoma to small cell lung carcinoma after targeted therapy or immunotherapy: A report of two cases.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- Histologic transformation in lung cancer: when one door shuts, another opens.Therapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2022Review
- Case Report: A Rare Case of Metachronous Multiple Primary Lung Cancers in a Patient With Successful Management by Switching From Anti-PD-1 Therapy to Anti-PD-L1 Therapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors that block the programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 pathways are widely used to treat advanced lung cancers. There are seldom cases of histologic transformation reported after treatment with immunotherapy. Here, we report the case of a 69-year-old man with stage IV lung squamous cell carcinoma. He received pembrolizumab monotherapy and had a partial response. After 22 cycles of pembrolizumab, chest computed tomography (CT) showed a left hilar tumor, bilateral pleural effusion and lymphadenopathy. The cytology of pleural effusion and bronchoscopic biopsy of an intraluminal lesion revealed small cell lung cancer. After two cycles of chemotherapy (etoposide/carboplatin), CT scan revealed shrinkage of lesions. This is the first case of lung squamous cell carcinoma with histologic transformation after treatment with pembrolizumab alone.
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Registered trials
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