Complete remission of heavily treated ovarian clear cell carcinoma with ARID1A mutations after pembrolizumab and bevacizumab combination therapy: a case report

Abstract Background Patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) have a poor prognosis because they show low sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy. New treatments for refractory OCCC are urgently needed. Case presentation We present a patient with refractory OCCC in whom conventional chemotherapy failed. Cachexia was induced by the disseminating recurrent tumors. Tumor tissue staining and genomic analysis revealed PD-L1 negativity, a low tumor burden, stable microsatellite instability, and two mutations in ARID1A. The patient was administered pembrolizumab combined with bevacizumab triweekly. Her serum CA-125 level decreased dramatically after the first cycle. A computerized tomography scan showed marked regression of the recurrent masses after 3 cycles, and the patient reached complete remission after 9 cycles. She showed good recovery from cachexia. We observed no marked side effects except for mild polyarthritis of the small joints. Conclusions The therapeutic effect of checkpoint inhibitors combined with angiogenesis inhibitors is very promising in our patient with OCCC. Further clinical trials of tumors including ARID1A mutations are warranted.