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E. Rodriguez



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    P2.02 - Biology/Pathology (ID 616)

    • Event: WCLC 2017
    • Type: Poster Session with Presenters Present
    • Track: Biology/Pathology
    • Presentations: 1
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      P2.02-044 - Pulmonary Findings in 7 Autopsy Cases of Patients Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ID 10263)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): E. Rodriguez

      • Abstract

      Background:
      Side effects of immune checkpoint therapy are milder than with standard chemotherapy. Pulmonary toxicity has been described in 5% of patients, most of which are low grade pneumonitis with varied radiologic and pathologic appearances. Here we report lung pathology findings in 7 autopsy cases of patients who died while on immune checkpoint therapy.

      Method:
      Patient characteristics are shown in table 1. We evaluated tumor burden, the presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), and type of lung injury. TIL were quantitated using a 4 tier system (0 -3+ = none, mild, moderate, extensive)

      Table1. Summary of demographic and clinical information
      Case Age Sex Immune Tx Pneumonitis Chest Imaging
      1 38 WM 3 mo Yes GGO, multifocal
      2 65 WM 9 mo No Bilateral pleural effusion
      3 54 WF single dose Yes Bilateral reticular opacities
      4 30 BM 4 mo No GGO, patchy
      5 59 WM 7 mo No Pulmonaryemboli and tumor
      6 72 WM 25 mo Yes GGO, bilateral, diffuse
      7 68 WM 5 mo Yes GGO, bilateral, diffuse


      Result:
      Residual viable tumor with little or no therapy effects was present in all 7 cases. The 4 cases where pneumonitis was diagnosed clinically had at least focal DAD. The majority of tumors had at least scattered TIL present, while one tumor had a large number TIL.
      Table 2. Summary of autopsy findings
      Case Tumor TIL LVI DAD Pneumonia Tumor necrosis
      1 ACA in 5 lobes 1+ Yes* Focal No <5%
      2 MM in LLL, LUL 3+ No Focal RLL No None
      3 ACA in 4 lobes 1+ Yes LUL, RUL, LLL LLL, RLL, LUL None
      4 MM in 4 lobes 1+ Yes No No None
      5 MM in RUL 1+ No No No None
      6 SCC in RLL, LL, LUL 2+ Yes RUL, RML, RLL No 10% and fibrosis
      7 SCC in 5 lobes 1+ Yes LUL, LLL No 20-30%
      ACA: adenocarcinoma; MM: Malignant melanoma; SCC: squamous cell carcinoma; *extensive LVI

      Conclusion:
      The majority of patients with clinical diagnosis of pneumonitis had DAD at autopsy and variable amount of viable tumor in the lungs and at least a few tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Additional studies are pending to further characterize the phenotype of the TIL and to determine PD1 and PDL1/PDL2 expression on the tumor cells.