TY - JOUR
T1 - Checkpoint inhibitors in breast cancer - current status
AU - Polk, Anne
AU - Svane, Inge-Marie
AU - Andersson, Michael
AU - Nielsen, Dorte
N1 - Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/2
Y1 - 2018/2
N2 - INTRODUCTION: An increasing number of compounds directed against immune checkpoints are currently under clinical development. In this review we summarize current research in breast cancer.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A computer-based literature search was carried out using PubMed and EMBASE; data reported at international meetings and clinicaltrials.gov were included as well.RESULTS: The obtained overall response rate of PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy varied from 5 to 30% in heavily pretreated triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The median duration of progression free survival and overall survival were either not reported or short. Still responses were of long duration in a subset of patients. In the neoadjuvant setting, preliminary results including a very limited number of patients suggest high pathological response rates after combined blockade of the PD-1 pathway and chemotherapy. Multiple trials have been initiated to evaluate the combination of other anticancer agents and checkpoint inhibitors, especially in TNBC. In addition, ongoing studies aim to identify biomarkers to guide patient selection.CONCLUSION: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have the potential to produce durable tumor remission and induce long standing anti-tumor immunity in a subgroup of breast cancer patients. However, the identification of predictive biomarkers is crucial for further development of this treatment modality.
AB - INTRODUCTION: An increasing number of compounds directed against immune checkpoints are currently under clinical development. In this review we summarize current research in breast cancer.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A computer-based literature search was carried out using PubMed and EMBASE; data reported at international meetings and clinicaltrials.gov were included as well.RESULTS: The obtained overall response rate of PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy varied from 5 to 30% in heavily pretreated triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The median duration of progression free survival and overall survival were either not reported or short. Still responses were of long duration in a subset of patients. In the neoadjuvant setting, preliminary results including a very limited number of patients suggest high pathological response rates after combined blockade of the PD-1 pathway and chemotherapy. Multiple trials have been initiated to evaluate the combination of other anticancer agents and checkpoint inhibitors, especially in TNBC. In addition, ongoing studies aim to identify biomarkers to guide patient selection.CONCLUSION: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have the potential to produce durable tumor remission and induce long standing anti-tumor immunity in a subgroup of breast cancer patients. However, the identification of predictive biomarkers is crucial for further development of this treatment modality.
KW - Antineoplastic Agents/immunology
KW - Clinical Trials as Topic
KW - Combined Modality Therapy/methods
KW - Disease-Free Survival
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Immunotherapy/methods
KW - Neoadjuvant Therapy/methods
KW - Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/metabolism
KW - Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy
U2 - 10.1016/j.ctrv.2017.12.008
DO - 10.1016/j.ctrv.2017.12.008
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29287242
SN - 0305-7372
VL - 63
SP - 122
EP - 134
JO - Cancer Treatment Reviews
JF - Cancer Treatment Reviews
ER -
