Stage I Pleomorphic Lung Cancer Recurring With Bone Metastasis Within Five Months

This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance

Stage at diagnosis
Stage IV
Biomarkers
PD-L1 high (TPS 80%); no detected driver mutation
Sex
male
Spread to
bone
Treatment
surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy
Outcome
Responding Well

Treatment course, step by step

  1. Underwent left upper-lung resection for Stage I pleomorphic carcinoma in November 2023.
  2. Five months later, recurrence at the surgical site and a thoracic-spine bone metastasis were found, followed by further lung surgery in May 2024.
  3. Received 6 cycles of albumin-paclitaxel, gemcitabine, sintilimab and bevacizumab, with denosumab for the bone metastasis.
  4. Continued maintenance sintilimab and bevacizumab after achieving a partial response.

What happened, in summary

A 67-year-old man was evaluated in November 2023 after a small left upper-lung lesion was found during a physical examination. Surgery confirmed Stage I pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, a rare aggressive form of lung cancer. No driver mutation was detected.

Only 5 months after surgery, he developed cough and coughing up blood. Imaging showed a new mass at the surgical site and a metastasis in the third thoracic vertebra, establishing Stage IV recurrent disease. He underwent further lung surgery in May 2024. Testing of the recurrent tumor showed high PD-L1 expression at 80%.

After surgery, he received 6 cycles of albumin-paclitaxel and gemcitabine with the immunotherapy drug sintilimab and the anti-angiogenic drug bevacizumab. Denosumab was also given for the bone metastasis. The combination produced a partial response, confirmed on PET-CT in December 2024. As of February 2025, he was continuing maintenance sintilimab and bevacizumab, with about 9 months of progression-free survival after treatment for the recurrence.

Where this story comes from

This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full

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