Atezolizumab, a PD-L1 Inhibitor: An Association of Bleeding Gastric Ulcer With Its Use

Atezolizumab is a programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitor, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), useful in various advanced solid malignancies. As atezolizumab is more commonly used nowadays, physicians should be aware of the rare associated adverse events (AEs). Most of the AEs associated with the ICIs are immune-related, and the common gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations are colitis and diarrhea. Upper GI manifestations are rare with atezolizumab, and bleeding gastric ulcer is even rarer. We report here a case of a 62-year-old male with hepatocellular carcinoma who presented with upper GI bleed after atezolizumab therapy. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed multiple gastric ulcers, which are likely the cause of his bleeding.