Testicular germ cell tumor (GCT) is the most common malignancy in young males between the ages of 15 to 35 years. Although the overall cure rate of GCTs approaches 95%, almost 25% of patients with distant metastases die from the cancer. Active investigations on novel treatment options for platinum-refractory GCTs include immunotherapies such as program-death 1 (PD-1)/program death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors. In this case, we report a patient with metastatic GCTs who was treated with pembrolizumab, a PD-L1 inhibitor, in a phase II study after failing several lines of chemotherapy. We highlighted the rationale for the use of PD-L1 inhibitor in this population.
Rare tumors. 2017 Jul 03*** epublish ***
Kah Poh Loh, Chunkit Fung
Division of Hematology/Oncology, James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY, USA.