Refractory lymphoma treated with chimeric antigen receptor T cells combined with programmed cell death-1 inhibitor: A case report

BACKGROUND: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a common aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), accounting for 30%-40% of adult NHL. Primary testicular (PT) lymphoma is an uncommon extranodal disease representing approximately 1%-2% of lymphoma. Approximately 30%–40% of patients are refractory to frontline therapy or relapse after complete remission. Refractory DLBCL responds poorly to other lines of chemotherapy, and experiences short-term survival. CASE SUMMARY: We present a 41-year-old male patient who was diagnosed with PT-DLBCL. Further disease progression was observed after multiline chemotherapy. Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) therapy salvaged the patient. Unfortunately, a new mass was observed in the right adrenal area after six months. The patient was administered programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor therapy and maintained progression-free survival at more than 17 mo of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the potential benefit of CAR-T combined with PD-1 inhibitor therapies in this type of relapsed and refractory PT-DLBCL.