Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40936701›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in oncology2025

Case Report: Complete response to pembrolizumab monotherapy in a geriatric patient with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma and TNBC.

Jessica Liu, Kelly Olino, Maryam Lustberg, Jane Kanowitz

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jessica LiuYale University, New Haven, CT, United States.
Kelly Olino *Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
Maryam Lustberg *Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
Jane Kanowitz *Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We present a case of a 98-year-old patient with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer, and locally advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), who achieved durable remission of both diseases with anti-PD-1 pembrolizumab monotherapy. This case is particularly significant to clinical management of advanced cutaneous malignancy in the elderly, who are historically underrepresented in clinical trials, as it demonstrates the remarkable efficacy of pembrolizumab alone while avoiding toxicities associated with traditional chemotherapy. The regression of the MCC lesion is noteworthy given the typically poor prognosis of metastatic MCC in geriatric patients. This experience contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting immunotherapy as a well-tolerated option for older adult patients with advanced skin and/or breast cancers, particularly when careful toxicity screening is employed for patient selection.

Indexed as

geriatric oncologyimmune-checkpoint inhibitorsimmune-related adverse eventsmerkel cell carcinomapembrolizumabtriple-negative breast cancer

Identifiers

PMID40936701
PMCPMC12420252

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.