Dr. Coffman on the Role of Targeted Therapy in TNBC

Lan G. Coffman, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical (UPMC) Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses the role of targeted therapy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

The development of targeted therapy in TNBC took some time, says Coffman. Until recently, chemotherapy was the mainstay treatment option. However, targeted therapies, such as PARP inhibitors, were thought to have utility in TNBC because the disease is enriched with BRCA mutations, Coffman explains. BRCA mutations in TNBC prevent DNA damage repair, which PARP inhibitors can capitalize on.

Additionally, the TROP-2 directed antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy) was approved in April 2020 for the treatment of patients with metastatic TNBC who have received at least 2 prior therapies for metastatic disease. TROP-2 is a protein expressed on the surface of many TNBC cells, concludes Coffman.