Dr. Andreopoulou on the Impact of Immunotherapy in TNBC

Eleni Andreopoulou, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, associate attending physician, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses shifts in the treatment paradigm of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and the impact immunotherapy has had in the field.

Among all of the subtypes of breast cancer, TNBC has shown great potential for immunotherapy, says Andreopoulou. In March 2019, the FDA approved the frontline combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) for patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic PD-L1—positive TNBC. The approval is based on the results of the IMpassion130 trial, which was the first randomized phase III trial to show a benefit in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) with the addition of a PD-L1 inhibitor to chemotherapy.

These data have opened a new avenue of treatment in TNBC, says Andreopoulou. Many ongoing clinical studies are investigating the effectiveness of immunotherapy in earlier-stage settings where tumors may be more immunogenic.