Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2018 Oct 17:2018:5985131.
doi: 10.1155/2018/5985131. eCollection 2018.

A Rare Case of Pembrolizumab-Induced Reactivation of Hepatitis B

Anita Pandey  1 , Susan Ezemenari  1 , Maksim Liaukovich  1 , Ivan Richard  1 , Avezbakiyev Boris  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Rare Case of Pembrolizumab-Induced Reactivation of Hepatitis B

Anita Pandey et al. Case Rep Oncol Med. .

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is common across the world, especially in Asia, Africa, Southern Europe, and Latin America. The association of HBV infection in patients suffering from different oncological conditions is well established. Many cases of HBV reactivation have been reported in patients on immunosuppressive chemotherapy and in patients undergoing hematopoietic bone marrow transplantations. Only one case has been reported so far of HBV reactivation in a patient treated with programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitors in the setting of HIV status. We report a case of a 51-year-old male, former smoker, diagnosed with stage IV poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the lung, and started on pembrolizumab, who developed reactivation of chronic hepatitis requiring antiviral therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Hui C.–. K., Cheung W. W. W., Zhang H.–. Y., et al. Kinetics and risk of de novo hepatitis B infection in HBsAg-negative patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy. Gastroenterology. 2006;131(1):59–68. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2006.04.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lin C. L., Kao J. H. Hepatitis B reactivation in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy: a hidden menace. Hepatology International. 2017;11(1):31–33. doi: 10.1007/s12072-016-9782-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yeo W., Chan P. K. S., Zhong S., et al. Frequency of hepatitis B virus reactivation in cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy: a prospective study of 626 patients with identification of risk factors. Journal of Medical Virology. 2000;62(3):299–307. doi: 10.1002/1096-9071(200011)62:3<299::AID-JMV1>3.0.CO;2-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ott J. J., Stevens G. A., Groeger J., Wiersma S. T. Global epidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection: new estimates of age-specific HBsAg seroprevalence and endemicity. Vaccine. 2012;30(12):2212–2219. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.12.116. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liu C. J., Chen P. J., Chen D. S., Kao J. H. Hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy: natural history, pathogenesis, and management. Hepatology International. 2013;7(2):316–326. doi: 10.1007/s12072-011-9279-6. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources