Background:
Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPi) has become a major treatment in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and demonstrated a clinical benefit for NSCLC patients with high programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression without EGFR/ALK/ROS1 drivers; however, the benefit in BRAF V600E NSCLC is so far unknown. Here, we report a case of prolonged tumor response to the combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy in a non-smoking BRAF V600E NSCLC patient.
Materials and methods:
We verify a co-expression of BRAF V600E mutation and PD-L1 high expression more than 50% on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor sample of a newly diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma patient by immunohistochemistry and BRAF V600E/EGFR/ALK/ROS1 Mutations Detection Kit. The tissue and liquid biopsies were further subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) for identification of mutations with progression on immunotherapy and BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi). The patient had provided written informed consent and authorized the publication of clinical case.
Results:
We demonstrate the case of 62-year-old female non-smoker with high PD-L1 expression and BRAF V600E mutated NSCLC. The progression-free survival (PFS) of first-line combination of atezolizumab with platinum-based chemotherapy and sequential second-line treatment with BRAFi Vemurafenib are 20 and 5.5 months, respectively.
Conclusion:
This case shows a durable response to ICPi in BRAF V600E non-smoking lung adenocarcinoma with PFS of 20 months under first-line atezolizumab plus chemotherapy treatment. The case supports the idea that the combination immunotherapy may be an attractive option for BRAF V600E mutated non-smoking NSCLC with high PD-L1 expression.