Treatment with programmed cell death 1 inhibitors is associated with a wide range of cutaneous immune-related adverse events, with lichenoid eruptions representing one of the major cutaneous toxicities. We describe the case of an 81-year-old man with metastatic melanoma treated with pembrolizumab who subsequently developed a delayed-onset generalized lichenoid dermatitis. After failing multiple lines of systemic immunosuppression, narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) phototherapy three times per week for 17 sessions resulted in a significant clinical response in his cutaneous eruption and was well tolerated. NBUVB is a safe, lower-cost modality that induces local, skin-specific immunosuppression without the toxicities of traditional systemic immunosuppressive agents. To date, this is the first report of use of NBUVB in immune-related lichenoid dermatitis resistant to multiple standard therapies.
Keywords: autoimmunity; case reports; immunotherapy; inflammation; melanoma.
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.