Prolonged Remission of Cancer of Unknown Primary following Initiation of Eculizumab Therapy for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria

Abstract EN

We report the case of a 64-year-old woman who presented with cancer of unknown primary treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by maintenance erlotinib.

Her chemotherapy regimen was discontinued due to the development of profound hemolysis that was later identified to be due to paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).

She was started on a complement inhibitory antibody, eculizumab 900 mg every 2 weeks, with marked suppression of hemolysis.

Eight years after diagnosis of cancer, the patient remains on eculizumab with no signs of cancer recurrence on regular imaging.

Regardless of whether the co-occurrence of cancer and PNH was any more than coincidental in this patient, the uniqueness of the case is emphasized by the remarkable and sustained response of not only PNH but also possibly the associated cancer to eculizumab.