Frontiers in Oncology (Jun 2023)

Case Report: Avelumab and ruxolitinib to manage polycythemia vera and secondary metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma: a possible successful combination

  • Chiara Masucci,
  • Mauro Passucci,
  • Emilia Scalzulli,
  • Ida Carmosino,
  • Marcello Capriata,
  • Alessandro Costa,
  • Claudia Ielo,
  • Maurizio Martelli,
  • Massimo Breccia

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2023.1212638
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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We describe a case of second primary malignancy in a 65-year-old patient affected by polycythemia vera treated with the JAK 1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib. The latter is recognized as a risk factor for the onset of non-melanoma skin cancers in many retrospective and perspective studies, but the concomitant use of ruxolitinib with new immunotherapies is very rarely reported, and the safety of this association is still not clear. In our case, ruxolitinib combined with the anti-PD-L1 avelumab demonstrated both safety and efficacy for hematological disease control and underlying carcinoma remission.

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