Pembrolizumab for the treatment of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in China

The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Chinese patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) who were treated with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) blockade therapies. We retrospectively analyzed patients who were admitted to our hospit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neurovirology 2023-12, Vol.29 (6), p.692-698
Main Authors: Fan, Siyuan, Liu, Mange, Bai, Lin, Chen, Sixian, Hou, Bo, Lin, Nan, Yuan, Jing, Mao, Chenhui, Niu, Jingwen, Ren, Haitao, Zhao, Yanhuan, Zhang, Zaiqiang, Zhu, Yicheng, Peng, Bin, Guan, Hongzhi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Female
Humans
Immunology
Infectious Diseases
JC Virus
Leukoencephalopathy, Progressive Multifocal - drug therapy
Male
Middle Aged
Neurology
Neurosciences
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies
Virology
Young Adult
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Summary:The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Chinese patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) who were treated with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) blockade therapies. We retrospectively analyzed patients who were admitted to our hospital between October 1, 2020, and October 1, 2022, diagnosed with PML and treated with PD1 blockade therapies. Four patients with PML who were treated with PD1 blockade therapies were identified. All patients were male, and their ages ranged from 19 to 54 years old. One patient (Case 2) exhibited mild pleocytosis, while three patients (Cases 2–4) had markedly reduced T lymphocyte cell counts prior to treatment. The time interval between symptom onset and treatment initiation ranged from six to 54 weeks. All patients received pembrolizumab treatment, with a total of two to four doses administered. Three patients who responded to pembrolizumab treatment showed clinical improvement starting around 8 weeks after the initiation of therapy. Although one patient did not show clinical improvement, they ultimately survived until the last follow-up. None of the patients in this study exhibited immune-related adverse events or immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. PD1 blockade appears to be a promising novel therapeutic option for PML; additional prospective studies are necessary to confirm its efficacy.
ISSN:1355-0284
1538-2443
DOI:10.1007/s13365-023-01180-w