Durable Response of Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin to Ipilimumab Immunotherapy

A 72-year-old male patient was receiving second-line chemotherapy for metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (SCCS) when he was diagnosed with concurrent metastatic melanoma (BRAF(G469E) mutant). Chemotherapy was ceased and he was treated with 4 cycles of ipilimumab immunotherapy. The patient experienced clinical benefit and durable remission in both malignancies and remains free of cancer progression 8 months after the last cycle of ipilimumab. Response of SCCS to ipilimumab has not been previously described, however this case and recent reports of pembrolizumab efficacy confirm the critical role of the immune system in SCCS pathogenesis and suggest further exploration of checkpoint immunotherapy for the treatment of this disease.