Pembrolizumab-associated enteritis as an immune related adverse event – a case report

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), formally a novel immunotherapy in the battle against cancer, have now become the first-line treatment for several tumours. Pembrolizumab is an ICI that works by inhibition of programed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) receptor, which is expressed by cancer cells as a mechanism of immune evasion. However, with increasing usage, it is clear that ICIs produce a particular side effect profile as a result of immune dysregulation referred to as immune related adverse events (IRAE).