PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Michael T Serzan
AU  - Princy N Kumar
AU  - Michael B Atkins
TI  - Diffuse pneumonitis from coronavirus HKU1 on checkpoint inhibitor therapy
AID  - 10.1136/jitc-2020-000898
DP  - 2020 May 01
TA  - Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
PG  - e000898
VI  - 8
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000898.short
4100  - http://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000898.full
SO  - J Immunother Cancer2020 May 01; 8
AB  - Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can produce specific immune-related adverse events including pneumonitis. The impact of ICI therapy on the severity of acute coronavirus infection symptomatology warrants further exploration.Case presentation We report a 65-year-old man diagnosed with stage IV melanoma who developed pulmonary and brain metastases and was treated with bilateral craniotomies followed by combined nivolumab and ipilimumab immunotherapy. He developed early-onset severe dyspnea associated with acute coronavirus HKU1 (non-COVID-19) infection, with diffuse pneumonitis evidenced by ground glass opacification on CT scan. He was treated with steroids leading to resolution of pneumonitis on repeat imaging, suggesting an exacerbated immune-mediated toxicity.Conclusion We report the first case of a patient with melanoma with severe and reversible diffuse pneumonitis in association with coronavirus HKU1 following combined nivolumab and ipilimumab immunotherapy. Although we do not have data on the impact of ICI therapy on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) symptomatology, a possible interaction should be considered when deciding on dosing in patients with possible SARS-CoV-2 exposure or when evaluating patients with presumed ICI-related pneumonitis during the COVID-19 pandemic.