Aggravation of depigmentation for a non-small-cell lung cancer patient with pre-existing vitiligo using anti-programmed cell death-1 therapy: case report

Immune checkpoint inhibitors can enhance the antitumor activity of the immune system by mainly promoting CD8(+) T lymphocyte immune function. However, they can also induce immune-related adverse events, especially skin toxicity. Some studies found that patients with autoimmune or inflammatory disease are susceptible to immune checkpoint inhibitors and were associated with a significantly increased risk of immune-related adverse events. In our present report, we described a newly diagnosed non-small-cell lung cancer patient who suffered from focal vitiligo for approximately ten years and was treated with the anti-programmed cell death-1 receptor antibody camrelizumab (SHR-1210), which accelerated the aggravation of depigmentation of the skin over the whole body in just half a year.