Skip to main content

CASE REPORT article

Front. Med.

Sec. Pulmonary Medicine

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1466041

Case Report: New horizon for advanced Lung large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma patients with immunotherapy maintenance

Provisionally accepted
Ying Wang Ying Wang Yu-Jie Lu Yu-Jie Lu Li Zhou Li Zhou Haidi Gu Haidi Gu Feng Guo Feng Guo *
  • The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background Noted for its distinctive histological features and pronounced neuroendocrine differentiation, lung large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) represents approximately 3% of all lung cancer cases. Case presentation We present the case of a 67-year-old non-smoking male with LCNEC and brain metastasis who initially presented with central nervous system symptoms. Genetic testing identified TP53 and RB1 co-mutation, suggesting an SCLC-like subtype. The patient achieved a partial response after six cycles of etoposide and cisplatin chemotherapy, followed by maintenance therapy with serplulimab, a PD-1 inhibitor, leading to further tumor reduction. Treatment was discontinued after 13 cycles due to a severe rash. At the time of this report, the patient has maintained a stable condition with over 20 months of progression-free survival. Conclusion This case highlights the potential efficacy of serplulimab as maintenance therapy for LCNEC maintenance, particularly in the SCLC-like subtype.

    Keywords: brain metastasis, Immunotherapy, KRAS, LCNEC, lung cancer, case report

    Received: 17 Jul 2024; Accepted: 24 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Lu, Zhou, Gu and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Feng Guo, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

    Research integrity at Frontiers

    Man ultramarathon runner in the mountains he trains at sunset

    94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good

    Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.


    Find out more