Pembrolizumab for primary malignant melanoma of the central nervous system
To the Editor,
Primary melanocytic neoplasms of the central nervous system (CNS) represent only 1% of primary melanomas. These tumors are frequently related to GNAQ or GNA11 mutations in adult patients [1] and to NRAS mutations in children. The recent introduction of immune checkpoint blockers with anti-programmed death 1 (PD1) agents such as pembrolizumab represented a major therapeutic progress in the treatment of metastatic cutaneous melanoma. Pembrolizumab prevents PD1/PD-ligand 1 (PDL1) interaction and thereby reactivates cytotoxic T-cell action against tumor cells. Here, we describe a case of this rare tumor treated with pembrolizumab.
A 69-year-old Caucasian woman with no history of extracranial malignant melanoma (MM), underwent surgery for a primary leptomeningeal melanoma located in the right frontal lobe, with pterion infiltration and meningeal connection. Genetic analysis did not reveal GNAQ, GNA11, BRAF or NRAS mutations.
Microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization...
Notes
Acknowledgements
We thank Arnault de la Fouchardière, MD, PhD (Department of Biopathology, Centre Leon Berard, Lyon) for his work on the molecular analysis.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Research involving human and animals participants
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
References
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