Recurrent NRG1-Fusion Lung Cancer After Surgery and Immunotherapy
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Subtype
- Adenocarcinoma
- Biomarkers
- SDC4-NRG1 fusion
- Sex
- Male
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and palliative care
- Outcome
- In Memory
Treatment course, step by step
- He underwent right lower lobectomy with mediastinal lymph-node dissection.
- He then received 2 cycles of cisplatin and pemetrexed, followed by nivolumab after metastatic recurrence.
- Afatinib produced stable disease for 4 months before rapid progression.
- He declined further cancer treatment and entered hospice care.
What happened, in summary
A 68-year-old man with a smoking history was diagnosed in January 2016 with invasive nonmucinous lung adenocarcinoma. He underwent right lower lobectomy with mediastinal lymph-node dissection in March 2016, followed by 2 cycles of cisplatin and pemetrexed. Chemotherapy was stopped when imaging and biopsy confirmed recurrent metastatic disease in the right lung.
Nivolumab was given every 2 weeks from September to November 2016. Imaging initially showed a good response, but treatment was later stopped because of immune-mediated hepatitis and cancer progression. Slow progression continued during the following year. RNA sequencing of the original surgical tissue identified an SDC4-NRG1 fusion.
Afatinib started in August 2018 at 30 mg daily. The disease remained stable for 4 months, then progressed rapidly in December. He decided against further cancer-directed treatment and entered hospice, where he died shortly afterward.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
Collections this story belongs to
- Metastatic Lung Cancer 25 stories
- Afatinib for Lung Cancer 37 stories
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer