Checkpoint inhibitors for CNS germ cell tumors – pro
There is some evidence supporting nivolumab in germ cell cancers, but none that I could find to CNS germ cell tumors. The evidence is at the level of case reports and series. There is an ongoing phase II study of Keytruda, a drug similar to nivolumab. As such, there is not sufficient evidence to support this treatment at this time.
Kah Poh Loh and Chunkit Fung, Novel Therapies in Platinum-refractory Metastatic Germ Cell Tumor: A Case Report with a Focus on a PD-1 Inhibitor. Rare Tumors. 2017 Jul 3; 9(2): 6867.
S. Zschäbitz F. Lasitschka D. Jäger C. Grüllich. Activity of immune checkpoint inhibition in platinum refractoy germ-cell tumors. Annals of Oncology, Volume 27, Issue 7, 1 July 2016, Pages 1356–1360,
Shalin Shah, James Edward Ward, Riyue Bao, Bruce Brockstein, and Jason John Luke, Clinical response to anti-PD1 immunotherapy in a patient with non-seminomatous germ cell tumor and evaluation of the immune landscape in testicular cancer.