Autoimmune hemolytic anemia in patients with relapsed Hodgkin ’s lymphoma after treatment with penpulimab, a monoclonal antibody against programmed death receptor-1

SummaryIn August 2021, penpulimab, an anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody, was approved in China for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin ’s lymphoma who completed at least second-line chemotherapy. Penpulimab is currently in clinical trials in China and Australia for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Several clinical studies have shown that penpulimab is safe and effective, and no immune-related adverse events (irAEs) above grade 3 were observed. A 60-year-old woman with relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma developed nausea and fatigue after receiving penpulimab monotherapy (200 mg every 2 weeks). Ten days after the second injection, the patient’s condition worsened, and biochemical test resu lts confirmed autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), with a hemoglobin level of 70 g/L (normal range, 115–150 g/L), an unconjugated bilirubin level of 19.08 µmol/L (normal range, 0–17 µmol/L), and positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) results. On the same day, we treated her with prednisone (2 mg/kg), but her hemoglobin level continued to decline to 51 g/L one day after hormone therapy, so she received an intravenous infusion of washed red blood cells and underwent plasmapheresis, which eventually resolved the AIHA. Considering that the hemoglobin level was <  65 g/L and the irAE was grade 4, penpulimab was discontinued, and the symptoms of AIHA disappeared. From this event,...
Source: Investigational New Drugs - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research