Combined Use of Radioactive 125I Seeds and PD-1 Inhibitor Provides Sustained Clinical Benefit in an Elderly Patient with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Case Report

Su-Rui Ouyang,1,* Xuan-Zhen Bao,2,* Yi-Ping Li,1 Jing-Dong He1 1Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, Donghai County People’s Hospital, Lianyungang, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jing-Dong He, Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-17551853828, Email [email protected]: Radioactive 125I seed implantation, a minimally invasive and targeted local therapy, is particularly suitable for elderly patients who are ineligible for conventional treatments. Meanwhile, PD-1 inhibitors, as a major focus of current research, have become an essential component of systemic therapy for non-small cell lung cancer. This case report describes a 72-year-old male patient with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) whose disease progressed despite multiple lines of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Due to the onset of hemoptysis, he underwent combined treatment with radioactive 125I seeds and a PD-1 inhibitor. Postoperatively, his hemoptysis resolved completely, and notably, the patient achieved a progression-free survival of 40 months, demonstrating sustained clinical benefit. These findings suggest that the combination of 125I seed implantation and PD-1 inhibitors may exert a synergistic antitumor effect, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer, 125I seed implantation, brachytherapy, immunotherapy, synergistic therapy, elderly patients, immunotherapy