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Positive results from a clinical trial exploring the use of an immune therapy for triple negative breast cancer have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.





Triple negative breast cancer



Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a less common type of breast cancer that is complex to treat for a variety of reasons. Occurring in approximately

women with breast cancer (15-20%), TNBCs are cancers whose cells lack the receptors for:





the hormones estrogen and progesterone and





the HER2 protein



Unfortunately, many targeted cancer treatments bind to these receptors, and so such therapies are ineffective in TNBC patients. Consequently, the main treatment adopted is chemotherapy.



Recurrence of the cancer is an additional concern in TNBC. Research has demonstrated that patients whose tumors are completely eradicated following chemotherapy have over a 90% likelihood of being cured from the cancer. However, for women with residual cancer post chemotherapy prior to having surgery to remove tumors, there is a 40-50% probability that the disease will return, regardless of the fact the cancer is completely removed in the surgery.





Exploring immune therapy and chemotherapy







The immune therapy adopted in the clinical trial was pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda. The biological therapy exerts its therapeutic effects by targeting and blocking the PD-1 protein on the surface of T-cells, triggering the T-cells to find and destroy cancer cells.



Over a period of six month s , two thirds of the participants received chemotherapy and the immunotherapy, and one third received chemotherapy plus a placebo drug. After having surgery, the patients continued this strategy and remained in either the control or treatment group.











The results are in





A future licensed drug?



Reference:

Schmid et al. (2020). Pembrolizumab for Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1910549.