We report a 69-year-old female patient with advanced lung cancer who developed myocarditis concomitant with myasthenia gravis (MG), also known as “Herzmyasthenie,” after 3 cycles of nivolumab administration. Her initial symptoms were general malaise and double vision. However, her myocarditis deteriorated rapidly the following day, necessitating a temporary pacemaker and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in the intensive care unit. Immunohistochemical examination of a myocardial biopsy suggested an immune response on the basis of HLA associations. The patient also developed impaired adduction of her left eye and elevated serum levels of acetylcholine receptor antibody, suggesting the onset of MG. Her condition gradually improved after immediate methylprednisolone pulse therapy. This case of nivolumab-induced “Herzmyasthenie” highlights the need to be aware that fulminant myocarditis might occur at the same time as MG during treatment with anti-programmed cell death-1 monoclonal antibodies.

This study identified six factors influencing the selection of a place for end-of-life care. Most patients have a desire for a social system that allows end-of-life care at home where they can live with their family, but have anxiety about treatment to deal with symptom change, with concern about burden on their family. These issues should be addressed in the future.

A 50-year-old man with lung adenocarcinoma (c-T1aN2M1b) experienced reddish purpura mainly on the lower legs after receiving 12 cycles of second-line chemotherapy with docetaxel. There was tumor enlargement on computed tomography performed to assess the therapeutic response, so paraneoplastic IgA vasculitis was considered. IgA vasculitis was diagnosed based on a biopsy of the skin lesion and histology of an upper gastrointestinal hemorrhagic mucosal erosion. As IgA vasculitis can lead to serious gastrointestinal or systemic complications, IgA vasculitis should be considered as a differential diagnosis for rashes in patients with malignancy.

The patient was a 69-year-old male who had started experiencing acute-onset pain in both shoulder joints and edema of both hands and feet. His symptoms progressively worsened within 1 month. Laboratory data indicated elevated CRP and erythrocyte sedimentation rate despite the normal range of antinuclear antibodies and rheumatoid factor and normal organ function. Furthermore, imaging data of the hand indicated synovitis without bone erosions. Meanwhile, chest CT revealed a lung tumor, leading to a diagnosis of primary lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR mutation (cT2aN3M0, stage IIIB). Based on these findings, he was diagnosed as suffering from paraneoplastic remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome. Thereafter, his symptoms disappeared as the tumor size was rapidly decreased by gefitinib therapy for lung adenocarcinoma. Currently, RS3PE syndrome can be classified as a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-associated disorder. Given that his symptoms improved by chemotherapy, the present case further supported the possible hypothesis that paraneoplastic RS3PE syndrome might be caused by tumor-induced VEGF. Therefore, the present case suggested that the symptoms of acute-onset joint pain accompanied by pitting edema in elderly patients should be considered suspicious for a malignant tumor, thereby warranting a detailed full-body examination.

In lung cancer, several potential mechanisms of intrinsic and acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been explored, including mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) signaling pathway activation. On the other hand, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production of EGFR-mutated lung cancer cells is stimulated by predominantly activated MET signaling pathway. Therefore, the inhibition of VEGF axis as the downstream target of MET signaling pathway seems promising. Here, for the first time, we report the potential efficacy of combination therapy with bevacizumab and erlotinib in an EGFR-mutated NSCLC patient with MET amplification who showed intrinsic resistance to initial EGFR-TKI therapy. The patient was a 60-year-old male smoker, showing performance status (PS) 2, who presented with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma (cT4N2M1a) harboring the EGFR exon 19 deletion mutation. He was started on gefitinib at 250 mg/day. However, by 28 days, his symptoms further deteriorated along with the increased tumor size, resulting in PS 3. Then, repeat biopsy was performed, showing the positive MET amplification and the preserved EGFR exon 19 deletion mutation. Therefore, on the basis of the potential efficacy for activated MET signaling pathway as well as the confirmed safety by the known phase II trial for EGFR-mutated patients, the patient was started on combination therapy with bevacizumab at 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks plus erlotinib at 150 mg/day. By 21 days, his symptoms gradually improved along with the decreased tumor size, resulting in better PS with no severe toxicities.