Abstract 5547: Durable remission with nivolumab, anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, in a patient with advanced thymic carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Thymic carcinoma is a rare neoplasm with poor prognosis that forms on the outside surface of the thymus. Due to the rarity of the disease, there are no randomized clinical trials that guide therapy. Currently, there are clinical trials under way to assess the efficacy of anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of advanced thymic carcinomas. However, the role of PD-1 inhibitors in treating thymic carcinoma remains mostly unknown. Here we present a case of a patient with thymic carcinoma who showed durable remission when treated with nivolumab. 61-year-old male was diagnosed with thymic carcinoma during an episode of COPD exacerbation in April 2015. The patient was treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen consisting of four cycles of carboplatin and paclitaxel every three weeks from June to September 2015. The mass was resected in October 2015. Margins were found to be grossly positive. The patient was deemed a poor candidate for adjuvant chemotherapy, and in February 2016 the decision was made to begin 3 mg/kg nivolumab therapy considering the poor prognosis of disease and high risk of recurrence. Close to two years after initiating therapy, he currently has no measurable disease and tolerates the medication without side effects. This is the first report demonstrating durable remission of thymic carcinoma with nivolumab treatment. Our case suggests that prospective trials evaluating the use of nivolumab in patients with thymic carcinoma are warranted. Citation Format: Young Kwang Chae, Anderson Cho, Kyunghoon Rhee, Andrew Davis, Wade Iams, Manali Bhave, Marcelo Cruz, Lee Chun Park. Durable remission with nivolumab, anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, in a patient with advanced thymic carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5547.