Immunotherapy drug helps treat breast cancer before surgery

Researchers have announced the primary results of the Neo-N immunotherapy trial, conducted by independent oncology clinical trials research group Breast Cancer Trials.

Neo-N investigated whether using an immunotherapy drug together with chemotherapy is safe and effective in treating early triple negative breast cancer before surgery in women and men. Triple negative breast cancer is a more aggressive tumour that has a faster growth rate, a higher risk of spreading to other parts of the body and a greater risk of recurrence than regular breast cancer.

Researchers examined if adding in immunotherapy could compensate for giving less chemotherapy. Patients received treatment before their operation, with the goal that this treatment combination could give the same outcomes but with fewer side effects. 108 women participated in the study at 14 institutions in Australia, New Zealand and Italy.

The study results, announced as a late breaking abstract at last year’s San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in the United States, showed that over 50% of early-stage triple negative breast cancer patients involved in the immunotherapy study had no evidence of cancer in the breast and lymph nodes at surgery following treatment. Study Chair Professor Sherene Loi said the results are a significant step forward in providing more treatment options for patients.

“Triple negative breast cancer doesn’t have any of the more common receptors that can be targeted by medications, such as hormone and HER2-blocking drugs, so it has fewer treatment options available,” Loi said. “However, being able to augment the immune system against it seems to work well, which is the basis of this new treatment combination.

“This 12-week chemo-immunotherapy treatment combination is a promising new treatment option that has been very effective at eradicating the cancer in those patients,” Loi continued. Indeed, the study found that patients with ‘immunotherapy sensitive’ cancer, as indicated by either tumour infiltrating lymphocytes or PD-L1 positivity, had particularly high pathological complete responses (67% and 71% respectively).

“This was a very promising phase 2 clinical trial and we now need to prove this concept in a bigger phase 3 study, to confirm the efficacy of this type of treatment,” Loi said. Patients involved in the trial are also in follow-up for long-term recurrence outcomes and this will be reported at a later date.

Image credit: iStock.com/Nattakorn Maneerat