Stage III Pulmonary Sarcomatoid Carcinoma With Major Response to Neoadjuvant Treatment
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Biomarkers
- PIK3CA mutation; TP53 mutation; PD-L1 TPS 5%
- Sex
- male
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Received 2 cycles of tislelizumab with albumin-bound paclitaxel and cisplatin, producing a partial response.
- Underwent left upper lobectomy with systematic lymph-node dissection and had about 10% residual tumor.
- Received 4 cycles of postoperative immunotherapy plus platinum-based chemotherapy followed by 7 cycles of immunotherapy.
What happened, in summary
A 59-year-old man presented in February 2022 after 6 months of persistent dry cough. CT showed a large tumor in the left upper lung with enlarged hilar lymph nodes. Biopsy showed a malignant spindle-cell tumor consistent with pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma, classified as Stage III. Testing found PIK3CA and TP53 mutations, with PD-L1 expression at 5%.
He received 2 cycles of tislelizumab with albumin-bound paclitaxel and cisplatin. The lung tumor and hilar nodes shrank substantially, meeting criteria for a partial response. He then underwent left upper lobectomy with systematic lymph-node dissection in April 2022.
Surgical pathology showed a major treatment response with about 10% residual tumor. The remaining tumor had a carcinosarcoma pattern, containing both squamous carcinoma and rhabdomyosarcoma-like components. Sampled lymph nodes did not contain active cancer.
After surgery, he received 4 cycles of immunotherapy plus platinum-based chemotherapy followed by 7 additional cycles of immunotherapy. He did not develop an immune-related adverse reaction. During postoperative follow-up, no recurrence was detected for more than 29 months.
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
- Stage 3 Lung Cancer 77 stories
- Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer 386 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