Abstract
Although checkpoint inhibitor therapies have demonstrated significant efficacy in many malignancies, they have not been well studied in patients with a history of solid organ transplant. We describe two patients with recurrent, refractory, and progressive advanced fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following orthotopic liver transplantation who received programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor, nivolumab, on a patient access, off-label basis. Both rapidly developed irreversible acute liver rejection shortly after starting therapy, and ultimately died. While checkpoint inhibitors clearly have tremendous potential as a targeted therapy, they should be avoided or used with extreme caution in the context of an organ transplant.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e26682 |
Journal | Pediatric Blood and Cancer |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2017 |
Keywords
- checkpoint inhibitor
- fibrolamellar
- hepatocellular carcinoma
- liver transplant
- PD-1 inhibitor
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Hematology
- Oncology