Case discussion: Squamous Stage IV NSCLC with pulmonary metastases and
PD-L1 expression of 95%
No EGFR, ALK, or ROS1 aberrations
Meet Peter, 68 years old
Hypothetical patient profile
Reasons for visit
- Persistent cough lasting ~3 months
Medical history
- Poorly controlled hypertension and well-controlled hepatitis B
- ECOG PS 0
- Former smoker (40 pack-years); quit 5 years ago
- Treatment-naive
Social support
Clinical information: Imaging and staging
Tumor locations
- Ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node involvement
- Small (≤1.5 cm) bilateral pulmonary metastases in all lobes
- Primary tumor: 4.2-cm mass in the right-lower lobe, which invaded the lobar bronchus
- Chest X-ray revealed an increased opacity in the right-lower lung
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Chest, abdominal, and pelvic PET-CT scans were performed
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FDG avid
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Brain MRI was negative for brain metastases
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Stage IVA
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TNM staging was T4/N2/M1a
Clinical information:
Pathology
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Biopsy of the right-lower lobe mass confirmed poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (TTF-1 negative, p40 positive)
- Plasma and tissue NGS were unremarkable for actionable driver mutations, including EGFR, ALK, and ROS1
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PD-L1 expression by IHC 22C3 pharmDx assay was 95%
Patient has high PD-L1 expression and well-controlled hepatitis B