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de Moraes FCA, Souza MEC, Sano VKT, Moraes RA, Melo AC. Association of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes with clinical outcomes in patients with triple-negative breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Transl Oncol 2024:10.1007/s12094-024-03661-8. [PMID: 39154313 DOI: 10.1007/s12094-024-03661-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) presents a clinical challenge as an aggressive tumor, correlated with unfavorable prognosis. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have garnered interest as a potential prognostic biomarker. However, the disparity in outcomes between varying TILs rates remains inadequately explored. METHODS PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies about the prognostic value of TILs in patients with TNBC receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) were computed for binary endpoints, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS Twenty-nine studies were included, involving a population of six thousand one hundred sixty-one (80.41%) with TNBC. The cut-off TILs value ranged from 10 to 60%, with 50% being the most related value. Compared with the low-TIL expression group, the disease-free survival (DFS) (HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.61-0.82; p < 0.00001) and overall survival (OS) (HR 0.76; 95% CI 0.63-0.90; p = 0.002) rates showed significant improvement with higher TIL infiltrations. In the subgroup analyses of the lymphocyte subtypes CD4 + and CD8 + , there was statistical significance favoring higher TILs rates in both subtypes, each associated with improved DFS (HR 0.48; 95% CI 0.33-0.71; p = 0.0002) and OS (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.36-0.78; p = 0.001), regardless of which cell subtype was predominantly infiltrated. The complete pathological response analysis showed better rates for the higher TIL group than the control for both the TIL (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.13-1.48; p = 0.0003) and Ki-67 (OR 2.74; 95% CI 2.01-3.73; p < 0.00001) analyses. CONCLUSION Higher expressions of TILs in patients with TNBC were associated with improved significantly DFS, OS, and pCR outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ana C Melo
- Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
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2
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Sun HK, Jiang WL, Zhang SL, Xu PC, Wei LM, Liu JB. Predictive value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for neoadjuvant therapy response in triple-negative breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Clin Oncol 2024; 15:920-935. [PMID: 39071463 PMCID: PMC11271722 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i7.920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The association between tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) levels and the response to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains unclear. AIM To investigate the predictive potential of TIL levels for the response to NAT in TNBC patients. METHODS A systematic search of the National Center for Biotechnology Information PubMed database was performed to collect relevant published literature prior to August 31, 2023. The correlation between TIL levels and the NAT pathologic complete response (pCR) in TNBC patients was assessed using a systematic review and meta-analysis. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias analysis were also conducted. RESULTS A total of 32 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The overall meta-analysis results indicated that the pCR rate after NAT treatment in TNBC patients in the high TIL subgroup was significantly greater than that in patients in the low TIL subgroup (48.0% vs 27.7%) (risk ratio 2.01; 95% confidence interval 1.77-2.29; P < 0.001, I 2 = 56%). Subgroup analysis revealed that the between-study heterogeneity originated from differences in study design, TIL level cutoffs, and study populations. Publication bias could have existed in the included studies. The meta-analysis based on different NAT protocols revealed that all TNBC patients with high levels of TILs had a greater rate of pCR after NAT treatment in all protocols (all P ≤ 0.01), and there was no significant between-protocol difference in the statistics among the different NAT protocols (P = 0.29). Additionally, sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the overall results of the meta-analysis remained consistent when the included studies were individually excluded. CONCLUSION TILs can serve as a predictor of the response to NAT treatment in TNBC patients. TNBC patients with high levels of TILs exhibit a greater NAT pCR rate than those with low levels of TILs, and this predictive capability is consistent across different NAT regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai-Kuan Sun
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, Henan Province, China
| | - Wen-Long Jiang
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, Henan Province, China
| | - Shi-Lei Zhang
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, Henan Province, China
| | - Peng-Cheng Xu
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, Henan Province, China
| | - Li-Min Wei
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, Henan Province, China
| | - Jiang-Bo Liu
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, Henan Province, China
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Foldi J, Blenman KRM, Marczyk M, Gunasekharan V, Polanska A, Gee R, Davis M, Kahn AM, Silber A, Pusztai L. Peripheral blood immune parameters, response, and adverse events after neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus durvalumab in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2024:10.1007/s10549-024-07426-3. [PMID: 39002068 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-024-07426-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE We evaluated T- and B-cell receptor (TCR and BCR) repertoire diversity and 38 serum cytokines in pre- and post-treatment peripheral blood of 66 patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus durvalumab and assessed associations with pathologic response and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) during treatment. METHODS Genomic DNA was isolated from buffy coat for TCR and BCR clonotype profiling using the Immunoseq platform and diversity was quantified with Pielou's evenness index. MILLIPLEX MAP Human Cytokine/Chemokine Magnetic Bead Panel was used to measure serum cytokine levels, which were compared between groups using moderated t-statistic with Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple testing. RESULTS TCR and BCR diversity was high (Pielou's index > 0.75) in all samples. Baseline receptor diversities and change in diversity pre- and post-treatment were not associated with pathologic response or irAE status, except for BCR diversity that was significantly lower post-treatment in patients who developed irAE (unadjusted p = 0.0321). Five cytokines increased after treatment in patients with pathologic complete response (pCR) but decreased in patients with RD, most prominently IL-8. IFNγ, IL-7, and GM-CSF levels were higher in pre-treatment than in post-treatment samples of patients who developed irAEs but were lower in those without irAEs. CONCLUSION Baseline peripheral blood cytokine levels may predict irAEs in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapy, and increased post-treatment B-cell clonal expansion might mediate irAEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Foldi
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 300 Halket Street, Room 3524, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Kim R M Blenman
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michal Marczyk
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Data Science and Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Vignesh Gunasekharan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Alicja Polanska
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, London, UK
| | - Renelle Gee
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mya Davis
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Adriana M Kahn
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Andrea Silber
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lajos Pusztai
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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Dvir K, Giordano S, Leone JP. Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:7517. [PMID: 39062758 PMCID: PMC11276856 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25147517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2024] [Revised: 06/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is a disease encompassing a spectrum of molecular subtypes and clinical presentations, each with distinct prognostic implications and treatment responses. Breast cancer has traditionally been considered an immunologically "cold" tumor, unresponsive to immunotherapy. However, clinical trials in recent years have found immunotherapy to be an efficacious therapeutic option for select patients. Breast cancer is categorized into different subtypes ranging from the most common positive hormone receptor (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative type, to less frequent HER2- positive breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), highlighting the necessity for tailored treatment strategies aimed at maximizing patient outcomes. Despite notable progress in early detection and new therapeutic modalities, breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the USA. Moreover, in recent decades, breast cancer incidence rates have been increasing, especially in women younger than the age of 50. This has prompted the exploration of new therapeutic approaches to address this trend, offering new therapeutic prospects for breast cancer patients. Immunotherapy is a class of therapeutic agents that has revolutionized the treatment landscape of many cancers, namely melanoma, lung cancer, and gastroesophageal cancers, amongst others. Though belatedly, immunotherapy has entered the treatment armamentarium of breast cancer, with the approval of pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in the neoadjuvant and advanced settings, thereby paving the path for further research and integration of immune checkpoint inhibitors in other subtypes of breast cancer. Trials exploring various combination therapies to harness the power of immunotherapy in symbiosis with various chemotherapeutic agents are ongoing in hopes of improving response rates and prolonging survival for breast cancer patients. Biomarkers and precise patient selection for the utilization of immunotherapy remain cardinal and are currently under investigation, with some biomarkers showing promise, such as Program Death Lignat-1 (PDL-1) Combined Positive Score, Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB), and Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs). This review will present the current landscape of immunotherapy, particularly checkpoint inhibitors, in different types of breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Dvir
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (K.D.)
- St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Sara Giordano
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (K.D.)
- St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA
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5
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Chen R, Yu Y, Zhang J, Song C, Wang C. Efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant therapy for HR-positive/HER2-negative early breast cancer: a Bayesian network meta-analysis. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther 2024; 24:599-611. [PMID: 38693054 DOI: 10.1080/14737140.2024.2350105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neoadjuvant treatment for hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) breast cancer is controversial and requires a comprehensive analysis for optimal therapy assessment. Therefore, a two-step Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of different neoadjuvant regimens. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Phase II/III randomized clinical trials comparing various neoadjuvant therapies for HR+/HER2- breast cancer were included. NMA and pairwise meta-analyses were conducted using Stata (version 14), R (version 4.2.3), and Review Manager 5.4. RESULTS Twenty-eight studies (5,625 patients) were eligible. NMA of objective response rate (ORR) indicated the highest SUCRA for chemotherapy (CT) and chemotherapy with anthracycline (CT(A)). Pathologic complete response (PCR) NMA demonstrated significant PCR improvement with chemotherapy regimens containing programmed cell death protein-1 and programmed cell death ligand-1 inhibitors (PD-1i/PD-L1i) and poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi). Combined analysis considering both the ORR and safety highlighted CT(A)'s efficacy and toxicity balance. CONCLUSIONS CT(A) and CT showed improved ORR compared with alternative regimens. CT(A) combined with PD-1/PD-L1 or PARP inhibitors significantly increased PCR rates. Comprehensive assessment of both ORR and safety indicated that CT(A) represents an optimal neoadjuvant therapy for HR+/HER2- breast cancer, whereas AI + CDK4/6 inhibitors rank solely behind chemotherapy. REGISTRATION PROSPERO Registration: CRD42024538948. International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (INPLASY) registration number INPLASY202440092.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiliang Chen
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Department of General Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Breast Cancer Institute, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
| | - Yushuai Yu
- Breast Cancer Institute, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Department of Breast Surgery, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Department of General Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Breast Cancer Institute, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
| | - Chuangui Song
- Breast Cancer Institute, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Department of Breast Surgery, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
| | - Chuan Wang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Department of General Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Breast Cancer Institute, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
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6
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Guo L, Lin X, Lin X, Wang Y, Lin J, Zhang Y, Chen X, Chen M, Zhang G, Zhang Y. Risk of interstitial lung disease with the use of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor compared with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor in patients with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. CANCER PATHOGENESIS AND THERAPY 2024; 2:91-102. [PMID: 38601483 PMCID: PMC11002750 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpt.2023.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Background Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors have become integral elements within the current landscape of breast cancer treatment modalities; however, they are associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD), which is rare but potentially fatal. Notably, only a few studies have compared the difference in ILD incidence between PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the discrepancies regarding ILD risk between the two immune checkpoint inhibitors. We also reported three cases of ILD after PD-1 inhibitor treatment. Methods We comprehensively searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library to identify clinical trials that investigated PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor treatment for patients with breast cancer. Pooled overall estimates of incidence and risk ratio (RR) were calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI), and a mirror group analysis was performed using eligible studies. Results This meta-analysis included 29 studies with 4639 patients who received PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor treatment. A higher ILD incidence was observed among 2508 patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors than among 2131 patients treated with PD-L1 inhibitors (0.05 vs. 0.02). The mirror group analysis further revealed a higher ILD event risk in patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors than in those treated with PD-L1 inhibitors (RR = 2.34, 95% CI, 1.13-4.82, P = 0.02). Conclusion Our findings suggest a greater risk of ILD with PD-1 inhibitors than with PD-L1 inhibitors. These findings are instrumental for clinicians in treatment deliberations, and the adoption of more structured diagnostic approaches and management protocols is necessary to mitigate the risk of ILD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Guo
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
- School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
| | - Xiaoyi Lin
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
- Medical College, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong 515000, China
| | - Xin Lin
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
| | - Yulei Wang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
| | - Jiali Lin
- Department of Breast Cancer, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital's Nanhai Hospital, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Breast Cancer, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital's Nanhai Hospital, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China
| | - Xiangqing Chen
- Department of Breast Cancer, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital's Nanhai Hospital, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China
| | - Miao Chen
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital's Nanhai Hospital, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China
| | - Guochun Zhang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
- School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510000, China
| | - Yifang Zhang
- Department of Breast Cancer, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital's Nanhai Hospital, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China
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7
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Lei C, Kong X, Li Y, Yang H, Zhang K, Wang Z, Chang H, Xuan L. PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitor - Related Adverse Events and Their Management in Breast Cancer. J Cancer 2024; 15:2770-2787. [PMID: 38577606 PMCID: PMC10988294 DOI: 10.7150/jca.85433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
As the positive results of multiple clinical trials were released, the Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors emerge as the focus of integrative breast cancer treatment. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors are often used as a sequential agent to be combined with other agents such as chemotherapeutic agents, targeted agents, and radiation therapy. As multiple therapies are administered simultaneously or in sequence, they are prone to a variety of adverse effects on patients while achieving efficacy. It is a challenge for clinicians to maintaining the balance between immune-related adverse effects(irAEs) and treatment efficacy. Previous literatures have paid lots of attention on the adverse effects caused by immunosuppressive agents themselves, while there is a dearth of the research on the management of adverse immune effects during the combination of immunotherapy with other treatments. In this review, we discuss the overall incidence of irAEs caused by PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in combination with various types of treatments in breast cancer, including chemotherapy, CTLA-4 inhibitors, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy, and systematically summarizes the clinical management to each organ-related adverse immune reaction. It is important to emphasize that in the event of irAEs such as neurological, hematologic, and cardiac toxicity, there is no alternative treatment but to terminate immunotherapy. Thus, seeking more effective strategy of irAEs' management is imminent and clinicians are urged to raise the awareness of the management of adverse immune reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuqi Lei
- Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangyi Kong
- Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Li
- Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Huaiyu Yang
- Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Ke Zhang
- Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongzhao Wang
- Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Hu Chang
- Administration Office, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
| | - Lixue Xuan
- Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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Baez-Navarro X, van den Ende NS, Nguyen AH, Sinke R, Westenend P, van Brakel JB, Stobbe C, Westerga J, van Deurzen CHM. HER2-low and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in triple-negative breast cancer: Are they connected? Breast Cancer Res 2024; 26:41. [PMID: 38468323 PMCID: PMC10926638 DOI: 10.1186/s13058-024-01783-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Most patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are not candidates for targeted therapy, leaving chemotherapy as the primary treatment option. Recently, immunotherapy has demonstrated promising results in TNBC, due to its immunogenicity. In addition, a novel antibody-drug conjugate, namely, trastuzumab-deruxtecan, has shown effectiveness in TNBC patients with low-HER2 expression (HER2-low). These novel treatment options raise the question about the potential association between the density of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) and the level of HER2 expression. We aimed to evaluate the association between the level of HER2 expression (HER2-low versus HER2-0) and density of sTILs in TNBC patients, and how they impact the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). This was a retrospective multicenter study including all TNBC patients diagnosed between 2018 and 2022. Central pathology review included sTILs percentages and level of HER2 expression. Tumors were reclassified as either HER2-0 (HER2 IHC 0) or HER2-low (IHC 1 + or 2 + with negative reflex test). Various clinicopathologic characteristics, including sTILs density, and response to NAC were compared between HER2-0 and HER2-low cases. In total, 753 TNBC patients were included in this study, of which 292 patients received NAC. Interobserver agreement between the original pathology report and central review was moderate (77% had the same IHC status after reclassification in either HER2-0 or HER2-low; k = 0.45). HER2-low TNBC represented about one third (36%) of the tumors. No significant difference in sTILs density or complete pathologic response rate was found between HER2-0 and HER2-low cases (p = 0.476 and p = 0.339, respectively). The density of sTILs (≥ 10% sTILs vs. < 10%) was independently associated with achieving a pCR (p = 0.011). In conclusion, no significant association was found between HER2-low status and density of sTILs nor response to NAC. Nonetheless, sTILs could be an independent biomarker for predicting NAC response in TNBC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ximena Baez-Navarro
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Nadine S van den Ende
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Anh H Nguyen
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pathology, HMC, The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Renata Sinke
- Department of Pathology, Pathan B.V., Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pieter Westenend
- Laboratory of Pathology, PAL Dordrecht, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Claudia Stobbe
- Department of Pathology, Pathan B.V., Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Johan Westerga
- Department of Pathology, Pathan B.V., Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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9
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Zabeti Touchaei A, Vahidi S. MicroRNAs as regulators of immune checkpoints in cancer immunotherapy: targeting PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 pathways. Cancer Cell Int 2024; 24:102. [PMID: 38462628 PMCID: PMC10926683 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-024-03293-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment by harnessing the power of the immune system to eliminate tumors. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) block negative regulatory signals that prevent T cells from attacking cancer cells. Two key ICIs target the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway, which includes programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and its receptor programmed death 1 (PD-1). Another ICI targets cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4). While ICIs have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in various malignancies, only a subset of patients respond favorably. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression, play a crucial role in modulating immune checkpoints, including PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4. This review summarizes the latest advancements in immunotherapy, highlighting the therapeutic potential of targeting PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 immune checkpoints and the regulatory role of miRNAs in modulating these pathways. Consequently, understanding the complex interplay between miRNAs and immune checkpoints is essential for developing more effective and personalized immunotherapy strategies for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sogand Vahidi
- Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
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10
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Alaluf E, Shalamov MM, Sonnenblick A. Update on current and new potential immunotherapies in breast cancer, from bench to bedside. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1287824. [PMID: 38433837 PMCID: PMC10905744 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1287824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Impressive advances have been seen in cancer immunotherapy during the last years. Although breast cancer (BC) has been long considered as non-immunogenic, immunotherapy for the treatment of BC is now emerging as a new promising therapeutic approach with considerable potential. This is supported by a plethora of completed and ongoing preclinical and clinical studies in various types of immunotherapies. However, a significant gap between clinical oncology and basic cancer research impairs the understanding of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, hampering cancer therapy research and development. To exploit the accumulating available data in an optimal way, both fundamental mechanisms at play in BC immunotherapy and its clinical pitfalls must be integrated. Then, clinical trials must be critically designed with appropriate combinations of conventional and immunotherapeutic strategies. While there is room for major improvement, this updated review details the immunotherapeutic tools available to date, from bench to bedside, in the hope that this will lead to rethinking and optimizing standards of care for BC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuelle Alaluf
- Medical Oncology Clinic, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Amir Sonnenblick
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Oncology Division, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
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11
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Bhardwaj PV, Abdou YG. The Evolving Landscape of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Antibody Drug Conjugates in the Treatment of Early-Stage Breast Cancer. Oncologist 2023; 28:832-844. [PMID: 37597245 PMCID: PMC11025387 DOI: 10.1093/oncolo/oyad233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023] Open
Abstract
For decades, chemotherapy has been the mainstay of breast cancer treatment. Novel therapies are expanding the therapeutic options and altering the treatment algorithms to manage this disease. The use and approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a few areas of progress. These therapies initially gained attention in the metastatic setting but have subsequently found a role in early-stage breast cancer. Although human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is at the center of ADC development, other surface antigens with a differential expression between tumor and normal cells may be appropriate for ADC targeting. This has led to the discovery of new ADCs targeting other receptors, including TROP-2, HER-3, and LIV-1, to name a few. Similarly, the addition of pembrolizumab in treating early-stage triple-negative breast cancer has led to exploring other ICIs in this setting. However, it has also raised important scientific questions regarding optimal patient selection, biomarkers that predict the success of ICIs, ideal chemotherapy partners, and the financial implications of bringing newer therapies to the forefront. In this review, we discuss the evolving landscape of ICIs and ADCs in managing early-stage breast cancer and provide an overview of potential future advancement in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prarthna V Bhardwaj
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine-Baystate, Springfield, MA 01199, USA
| | - Yara G Abdou
- Division of Oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
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12
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Boydell E, Sandoval JL, Michielin O, Obeid M, Addeo A, Friedlaender A. Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy: A Promising New Standard of Care. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11849. [PMID: 37511609 PMCID: PMC10380420 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach in the treatment of various malignancies, with preclinical studies showing improved immune responses in the preoperative setting. FDA-approved neoadjuvant-immunotherapy-based approaches include triple-negative breast cancer and early non-small cell lung cancer on the basis of improvement in pathological response and event free survival. Nevertheless, current trials have only shown benefits in a fraction of patients. It is therefore crucial to identify predictive biomarkers to improve patient selection for such approaches. This review aims to provide an overview of potential biomarkers of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in early triple-negative breast cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. By the extrapolation of the metastatic setting, we explore known predictive biomarkers, i.e., PD-L1, mismatch repair deficiency and tumour mutational burden, as well as potential early-disease-specific biomarkers. We also discuss the challenges of identifying reliable biomarkers and the need for standardized protocols and guidelines for their validation and clinical implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Boydell
- University Hospital of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Michel Obeid
- University Hospital of Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alfredo Addeo
- University Hospital of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Alex Friedlaender
- University Hospital of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
- Clinique Générale Beaulieu, 1206 Geneva, Switzerland
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13
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Ye F, Dewanjee S, Li Y, Jha NK, Chen ZS, Kumar A, Vishakha, Behl T, Jha SK, Tang H. Advancements in clinical aspects of targeted therapy and immunotherapy in breast cancer. Mol Cancer 2023; 22:105. [PMID: 37415164 PMCID: PMC10324146 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-023-01805-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 82.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death for women worldwide. The heterogeneity of this disease presents a big challenge in its therapeutic management. However, recent advances in molecular biology and immunology enable to develop highly targeted therapies for many forms of breast cancer. The primary objective of targeted therapy is to inhibit a specific target/molecule that supports tumor progression. Ak strain transforming, cyclin-dependent kinases, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and different growth factors have emerged as potential therapeutic targets for specific breast cancer subtypes. Many targeted drugs are currently undergoing clinical trials, and some have already received the FDA approval as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs for the treatment of different forms of breast cancer. However, the targeted drugs have yet to achieve therapeutic promise against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In this aspect, immune therapy has come up as a promising therapeutic approach specifically for TNBC patients. Different immunotherapeutic modalities including immune-checkpoint blockade, vaccination, and adoptive cell transfer have been extensively studied in the clinical setting of breast cancer, especially in TNBC patients. The FDA has already approved some immune-checkpoint blockers in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs to treat TNBC and several trials are ongoing. This review provides an overview of clinical developments and recent advancements in targeted therapies and immunotherapies for breast cancer treatment. The successes, challenges, and prospects were critically discussed to portray their profound prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Saikat Dewanjee
- Advanced Pharmacognosy Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India
| | - Yuehua Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
- Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical College, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Niraj Kumar Jha
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering and Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India
- School of Bioengineering & Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, 144411, India
| | - Zhe-Sheng Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, New York, 11439, USA
| | - Ankush Kumar
- Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Career Point University, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India
| | - Vishakha
- Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Career Point University, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India
| | - Tapan Behl
- School of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Bidholi, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.
| | - Saurabh Kumar Jha
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering and Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India.
- Department of Biotechnology Engineering and Food Technology, Chandigarh University, Mohali, 140413, India.
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Applied & Life Sciences (SALS), Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, 248007, India.
| | - Hailin Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
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14
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Tang Q, Zhao S, Zhou N, He J, Zu L, Liu T, Song Z, Chen J, Peng L, Xu S. PD‑1/PD‑L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors in neoadjuvant therapy for solid tumors (Review). Int J Oncol 2023; 62:49. [PMID: 36866750 PMCID: PMC10019757 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2023.5497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
A comprehensive search regarding programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‑1)/programmed death‑ligand 1 (PD‑L1) inhibitor monotherapy or combination therapy in neoadjuvant settings of 11 types of solid cancer was performed using the PubMed, Cochrane and Embase databases, and the abstracts of various conferences were screened. Data presented in 99 clinical trials indicated that preoperative treatment with PD‑1/PD‑L1 combined therapy, particularly immunotherapy plus chemotherapy, could achieve a higher objective response rate, a higher major pathologic response rate and a higher pathologic complete response rate, as well as a lower number of immune‑related adverse events compared with PD‑1/PD‑L1 monotherapy or dual immunotherapy. Although PD‑1/PD‑L1 inhibitor combination caused more treatment‑related adverse events (TRAEs) in patients, most of the TRAEs were acceptable and did not cause marked delays in operation. The data suggest that patients with pathological remission after neoadjuvant immunotherapy exhibit improved postoperative disease‑free survival compared with those without pathological remission. Further studies are still required to evaluate the long‑term survival benefit of neoadjuvant immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quanying Tang
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Shikang Zhao
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Ning Zhou
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Jinling He
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Lingling Zu
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Tingwen Liu
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Zuoqing Song
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Jun Chen
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
| | - Ling Peng
- Department of Respiratory Disease, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, P.R. China
- Dr Ling Peng, Department of Respiratory Disease, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, P.R. China, E-mail:
| | - Song Xu
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China
- Correspondence to: Dr Song Xu, Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, 154 Anshan Road, Heping, Tianjin 300052, P.R. China, E-mail:
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15
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van den Ende NS, Nguyen AH, Jager A, Kok M, Debets R, van Deurzen CHM. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Predictive Markers of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032969. [PMID: 36769287 PMCID: PMC9918290 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Around 40-50% of all triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients achieve a pathological complete response (pCR) after treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The identification of biomarkers predicting the response to NAC could be helpful for personalized treatment. This systematic review provides an overview of putative biomarkers at baseline that are predictive for a pCR following NAC. Embase, Medline and Web of Science were searched for articles published between January 2010 and August 2022. The articles had to meet the following criteria: patients with primary invasive TNBC without distant metastases and patients must have received NAC. In total, 2045 articles were screened by two reviewers resulting in the inclusion of 92 articles. Overall, the most frequently reported biomarkers associated with a pCR were a high expression of Ki-67, an expression of PD-L1 and the abundance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, particularly CD8+ T cells, and corresponding immune gene signatures. In addition, our review reveals proteomic, genomic and transcriptomic markers that relate to cancer cells, the tumor microenvironment and the peripheral blood, which also affect chemo-sensitivity. We conclude that a prediction model based on a combination of tumor and immune markers is likely to better stratify TNBC patients with respect to NAC response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine S. van den Ende
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Centre, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +31-640213383
| | - Anh H. Nguyen
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Centre, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Agnes Jager
- Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Centre, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marleen Kok
- Department of Medical Oncology, Tumor Biology & Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Reno Debets
- Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Centre, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Carolien H. M. van Deurzen
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Centre, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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16
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Efficacy and Safety of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Triple-negative Breast Cancer: A Study Based on 41 Cohorts Incorporating 6558 Participants. J Immunother 2023; 46:29-42. [PMID: 36378154 DOI: 10.1097/cji.0000000000000447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The project was designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Electronic databases were screened to identify relevant trials. The primary endpoints were prognostic parameters and adverse events (AEs) through pooled rate, odds ratio, and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CI. Totally, 6558 TNBC patients from 41 cohorts were included. The pooled pathologic complete response rate (odds ratio=2.03, 95% CI: 1.35-3.06, P =0.0007) and event-free survival (HR=0.84, 95% CI: 0.73-0.96, P =0.0100) of ICIs plus chemotherapy was higher than that of chemotherapy-alone in early-stage TNBC. For metastatic TNBC, compared with chemotherapy-alone, the addition of ICIs prolonged the progression-free survival (PFS) (HR=0.92, 95% CI: 0.88-0.96, P <0.0001); the improvement also existed in the following 3 subgroups: programmed cell death-ligand 1 positive, race of White and Asian, and patients without previous neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy; however, the benefit of the combined regimen was not observed in overall survival (OS) (HR=0.95; 95% CI: 0.89-1.03, P =0.2127). In addition, the pooled rates of OS, PFS, and objective response rate of ICIs plus chemotherapy were better than those of ICIs plus targeted therapy or ICIs-alone. In the safety analysis, compared with chemotherapy-alone, ICIs plus chemotherapy increased immune-related AEs and several serious AE. The regimen of ICIs plus chemotherapy is promising in both early-stage and metastatic TNBC, while the increased serious AE should not be neglected. Furthermore, the pooled rates of OS, PFS, and objective response rate of ICIs plus chemotherapy were better than those of ICIs plus targeted therapy or ICIs-alone.
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17
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Fasching PA, Hein A, Kolberg HC, Häberle L, Uhrig S, Rübner M, Belleville E, Hack CC, Fehm TN, Janni W, Hartmann A, Erber R, Theuser AK, Brucker SY, Hartkopf AD, Untch M. Pembrolizumab in combination with nab-paclitaxel for the treatment of patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer - A single-arm phase II trial (NeoImmunoboost, AGO-B-041). Eur J Cancer 2023; 184:1-9. [PMID: 36871424 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pembrolizumab is approved for the neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment of early triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients in combination with chemotherapy. The Keynote-522 trial used platinum chemotherapy. As neoadjuvant nab-paclitaxel (nP) is also highly effective in triple-negative breast cancer patients, this study investigates the response to nP-containing neoadjuvant chemotherapy in combination with pembrolizumab. PATIENTS AND METHODS NeoImmunoboost (AGO-B-041/NCT03289819) is a multicenter, prospective single-arm phase II trial. Patients were treated with 12 weekly cycles of nP followed by four three-weekly cycles of epirubicin/cyclophosphamide. Pembrolizumab was given three-weekly in combination with these chemotherapies. The study was planned for 50 patients. After 25 patients, the study was amended to include a pre-chemotherapy single application of pembrolizumab. The primary aim was pathological complete response (pCR), and the secondary aims were safety and quality of life. RESULTS Of 50 included patients, 33 (66.0%; 95%confidence interval: 51.2%-78.8%) had a (ypT0/is ypN0) pCR. The pCR rate in the per-protocol population (n = 39) was 71.8% (95%confidence interval: 55.1%-85.0%). The most common adverse events of any grade were fatigue (58.5%), peripheral sensory neuropathy (54.7%) and neutropenia (52.8%). The pCR rate in the cohort of 27 patients with a pre-chemotherapy pembrolizumab dose was 59.3%, and 73.9% in the 23 patients without pre-chemotherapy dose. CONCLUSIONS pCR rates after NACT with nP and anthracycline combined with pembrolizumab are encouraging. With acceptable side-effect profiles, this treatment might be a reasonable alternative to platinum-containing chemotherapy in cases of contraindications. However, without data from randomised trials and long-term follow up, platinum/anthracycline/taxane-based chemotherapy remains the standard combination chemotherapy for pembrolizumab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter A Fasching
- Erlangen University Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
| | - Alexander Hein
- Erlangen University Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
| | | | - Lothar Häberle
- Erlangen University Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany; Biostatistics Unit, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Sabrina Uhrig
- Erlangen University Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Matthias Rübner
- Erlangen University Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
| | | | - Carolin C Hack
- Erlangen University Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Tanja N Fehm
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Wolfang Janni
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany
| | - Arndt Hartmann
- Erlangen University Hospital, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Ramona Erber
- Erlangen University Hospital, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
| | | | - Sara Y Brucker
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Andreas D Hartkopf
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany
| | - Michael Untch
- Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics, Breast Cancer Center, Gynecologic Oncology Center, Helios Klinikum Berlin Buch, Germany
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Abstract
The advent of immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has revolutionized the treatment of solid tumor malignancies. In breast cancer, the most robust data to date for ICI exist for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Preclinical studies suggested increased antitumoral immune response in patients with TNBC undergoing ICI treatment. Early clinical trials investigated the use of ICI monotherapy in patients with metastatic TNBC with promising results, particularly in the first-line setting and for those patients whose tumors had high programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Subsequent trials evaluated the use of ICI in combination with conventional chemotherapy to enhance the host immune response. Pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy in the KEYNOTE-355 study resulted in improved progression-free survival and overall survival benefits for patients with PD-L1 combined positive score > 10 metastatic TNBC. In early-stage disease, two phase III trials demonstrated increased rates of pathologic complete response at the time of surgery with the addition of neoadjuvant ICI to standard chemotherapy. The large KEYNOTE-522 trial showed improved event-free survival with neoadjuvant and adjuvant ICI. Several biomarkers have been identified, which may be predictive of response to ICI therapy including PD-1/PD-L1 expression, tumor mutational burden, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and multigene assays capturing favorable immune cell signatures. For hormone receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor-positive breast cancer, there are ongoing studies evaluating ICI therapy in combination with chemotherapy and targeted agents. Finally, across all subtypes, several novel immunotherapeutic agents are under investigation including novel ICIs, cancer vaccines, adoptive cellular therapy, and oncolytic viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saya L Jacob
- University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA
| | - Laura A Huppert
- University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA
| | - Hope S Rugo
- University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA
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19
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Ramírez-Tortosa CL, Alonso-Calderón R, Gálvez-Navas JM, Pérez-Ramírez C, Quiles JL, Sánchez-Rovira P, Jiménez-Morales A, Ramírez-Tortosa MC. Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1 Alpha Expression Is Predictive of Pathological Complete Response in Patients with Breast Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14215393. [PMID: 36358811 PMCID: PMC9656699 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14215393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy, based on taxanes and anthracyclines, makes conservative treatment of breast cancer possible and it allows for the evaluation of the tumor response in terms of achieving pathological complete response. Whereas hypoxia participates in carcinogenesis, resulting in less differenced tumor cells and poorer prognosis, HIF-1α could be predictive of the tumor response to treatment. Nonetheless, very few studies have evaluated the predictive value of HIF-1α in breast cancer in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Abstract To demonstrate the value of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in predicting response in patients with breast cancer receiving standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Methods: Ninety-five women enrolled in two prospective studies underwent biopsies for the histopathological diagnosis of breast carcinoma before receiving NAC, based on anthracyclines and taxanes. For expression of HIF-1α, EGFR, pAKT and pMAPK, tumor samples were analyzed by immunohistochemistry in tissues microarrays. Standard statistical methods (Pearson chi-square test, Fisher exact test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney test and Kaplan–Meier method) were used to study the association of HIF-1α with tumor response, survival and other clinicopathologic variables/biomarkers. Results: HIF-1α expression was positive in 35 (39.7%) cases and was significantly associated to complete pathological response (pCR) (p = 0.014). HIF-1α expression was correlated positively with tumor grade (p = 0.015) and Ki-67 expression (p = 0.001) and negativity with progesterone receptors (PR) (p = 0.04) and luminal A phenotype expression (p = 0.005). No correlation was found between HIF-1α expression and EGFR, pAKT and pMAPK. In terms of survival, HIF-1α expression was associated with a significantly shorter disease-free survival (p = 0.013), being identified as an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Overexpression of HIF-1α is a predictor of pCR and shorter DFS; it would be valuable to confirm these results in prospective studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- César L. Ramírez-Tortosa
- Pathological Anatomy Service, University Hospital San Cecilio, Parque Tecnológico de la Salud (PTS), Avda. del Conocimiento, 18016 Granada, Spain
| | - Rubén Alonso-Calderón
- Medical Oncology Service, Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, Avda. del Ejército Español 10, 23007 Jaén, Spain
| | - José María Gálvez-Navas
- Pharmacogenetics Unit, Pharmacy Service, University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Avda. de las Fuerzas Armadas 2, 18004 Granada, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Faculty of Pharmacy, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, Universidad de Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
- Correspondence:
| | - Cristina Pérez-Ramírez
- Pharmacogenetics Unit, Pharmacy Service, University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Avda. de las Fuerzas Armadas 2, 18004 Granada, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Faculty of Pharmacy, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, Universidad de Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
| | - José Luis Quiles
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
| | - Pedro Sánchez-Rovira
- Medical Oncology Service, Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, Avda. del Ejército Español 10, 23007 Jaén, Spain
| | - Alberto Jiménez-Morales
- Pharmacogenetics Unit, Pharmacy Service, University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Avda. de las Fuerzas Armadas 2, 18004 Granada, Spain
| | - MCarmen Ramírez-Tortosa
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Faculty of Pharmacy, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, Universidad de Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
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20
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Farheen J, Hosmane NS, Zhao R, Zhao Q, Iqbal MZ, Kong X. Nanomaterial-assisted CRISPR gene-engineering - A hallmark for triple-negative breast cancer therapeutics advancement. Mater Today Bio 2022; 16:100450. [PMID: 36267139 PMCID: PMC9576993 DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2022.100450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most violent class of tumor and accounts for 20–24% of total breast carcinoma, in which frequently rare mutation occurs in high frequency. The poor prognosis, recurrence, and metastasis in the brain, heart, liver and lungs decline the lifespan of patients by about 21 months, emphasizing the need for advanced treatment. Recently, the adaptive immunity mechanism of archaea and bacteria, called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) combined with nanotechnology, has been utilized as a potent gene manipulating tool with an extensive clinical application in cancer genomics due to its easeful usage and cost-effectiveness. However, CRISPR/Cas are arguably the efficient technology that can be made efficient via organic material-assisted approaches. Despite the efficacy of the CRISPR/Cas@nano complex, problems regarding successful delivery, biodegradability, and toxicity remain to render its medical implications. Therefore, this review is different in focus from past reviews by (i) detailing all possible genetic mechanisms of TNBC occurrence; (ii) available treatments and gene therapies for TNBC; (iii) overview of the delivery system and utilization of CRISPR-nano complex in TNBC, and (iv) recent advances and related toxicity of CRISPR-nano complex towards clinical trials for TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jabeen Farheen
- Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China,Zhejiang-Mauritius Joint Research Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China
| | - Narayan S. Hosmane
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA
| | - Ruibo Zhao
- Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China,Zhejiang-Mauritius Joint Research Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China,Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Qingwei Zhao
- Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy & Key Laboratory for Drug Evaluation and Clinical Research of Zhejiang Province, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, PR China
| | - M. Zubair Iqbal
- Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China,Zhejiang-Mauritius Joint Research Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China,Corresponding author. Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China.
| | - Xiangdong Kong
- Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China,Zhejiang-Mauritius Joint Research Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China,Corresponding author. Institute of Smart Biomedical Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China
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21
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Foldi J, Kahn A, Silber A, Qing T, Reisenbichler E, Fischbach N, Persico J, Adelson K, Katoch A, Chagpar A, Park T, Blanchard A, Blenman K, Rimm DL, Pusztai L. Clinical Outcomes and Immune Markers by Race in a Phase I/II Clinical Trial of Durvalumab Concomitant with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Early-Stage TNBC. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:3720-3728. [PMID: 35903931 PMCID: PMC9444984 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-22-0862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The incidence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is higher among Black or African American (AA) women, yet they are underrepresented in clinical trials. To evaluate safety and efficacy of durvalumab concurrent with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for stage I-III TNBC by race, we enrolled additional AA patients to a Phase I/II clinical trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS Our study population included 67 patients. The primary efficacy endpoint was pathologic complete response (pCR; ypT0/is, N0) rate. χ2 tests were used to evaluate associations between race and baseline characteristics. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess association between race and overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between race and pCR, immune-related adverse events (irAE) and recurrence. RESULTS Twenty-one patients (31%) self-identified as AA. No significant associations between race and baseline tumor stage (P = 0.40), PD-L1 status (0.92), and stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (sTIL) count (P = 0.57) were observed. pCR rates were similar between AA (43%) and non-AA patients (48%; P = 0.71). Three-year EFS rates were 78.3% and 71.4% in non-AA and AA patients, respectively [HR, 1.451; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.524-4.017; P = 0.474]; 3-year OS was 87% and 81%, respectively (HR, 1.72; 95% CI, 0.481-6.136; P = 0.405). The incidence of irAEs was similar between AA and non-AA patients and no significant associations were found between irAEs and pathologic response. CONCLUSIONS pCR rates, 3-year OS and EFS after neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy were similar in AA and non-AA patients. Toxicities, including the frequency of irAEs, were also similar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Foldi
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Adriana Kahn
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Andrea Silber
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Tao Qing
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | | | - Neal Fischbach
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Justin Persico
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Kerin Adelson
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Anamika Katoch
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Anees Chagpar
- Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Tristen Park
- Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Adam Blanchard
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Kim Blenman
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - David L. Rimm
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Lajos Pusztai
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Corresponding author: Dr. Lajos Pusztai, MD, DPhil, Breast Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, 300 George St, Suite 120, Rm 133, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA. Tel: +1 203 737 8309.
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22
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Pinilla K, Drewett LM, Lucey R, Abraham JE. Precision Breast Cancer Medicine: Early Stage Triple Negative Breast Cancer-A Review of Molecular Characterisation, Therapeutic Targets and Future Trends. Front Oncol 2022; 12:866889. [PMID: 36003779 PMCID: PMC9393396 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.866889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Personalised approaches to the management of all solid tumours are increasing rapidly, along with wider accessibility for clinicians. Advances in tumour characterisation and targeted therapies have placed triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) at the forefront of this approach. TNBC is a highly heterogeneous disease with various histopathological features and is driven by distinct molecular alterations. The ability to tailor individualised and effective treatments for each patient is of particular importance in this group due to the high risk of distant recurrence and death. The mainstay of treatment across all subtypes of TNBC has historically been cytotoxic chemotherapy, which is often associated with off-target tissue toxicity and drug resistance. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is commonly used as it allows close monitoring of early treatment response and provides valuable prognostic information. Patients who achieve a complete pathological response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy are known to have significantly improved long-term outcomes. Conversely, poor responders face a higher risk of relapse and death. The identification of those subgroups that are more likely to benefit from breakthroughs in the personalised approach is a challenge of the current era where several targeted therapies are available. This review presents an overview of contemporary practice, and promising future trends in the management of early TNBC. Platinum chemotherapy, DNA damage response (DDR) inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, inhibitors of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR, and androgen receptor (AR) pathways are some of the increasingly studied therapies which will be reviewed. We will also discuss the growing evidence for less-developed agents and predictive biomarkers that are likely to contribute to the forthcoming advances in this field. Finally, we will propose a framework for the personalised management of TNBC based upon the integration of clinico-pathological and molecular features to ensure that long-term outcomes are optimised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Pinilla
- Precision Breast Cancer Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Oncology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Lynsey M. Drewett
- Precision Breast Cancer Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Oncology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca Lucey
- Precision Breast Cancer Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Oncology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jean E. Abraham
- Precision Breast Cancer Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Oncology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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23
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Shenasa E, Stovgaard ES, Jensen MB, Asleh K, Riaz N, Gao D, Leung S, Ejlertsen B, Laenkholm AV, Nielsen TO. Neither Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes nor Cytotoxic T Cells Predict Enhanced Benefit from Chemotherapy in the DBCG77B Phase III Clinical Trial. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14153808. [PMID: 35954471 PMCID: PMC9367267 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14153808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Apart from the direct killing of cancer cells, cyclophosphamide-based chemotherapy has been shown to induce an antitumor immune response, and is being used in combination with immunotherapies in cancer care. We assessed the interaction of chemotherapy with immune biomarkers expressed on primary tumor tissue from a randomized phase III clinical trial, and confirmed that the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes is linked to improved survival in premenopausal women with high-risk breast cancer, regardless of their treatment allocation. However, immune biomarkers including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes do not predict extra benefit from cyclophosphamide chemotherapy. This finding applies across the major molecular subgroups, including non-luminal and basal breast cancers that tend to be more immunogenic, and are often considered the most suitable subsets for receiving immunotherapy. Abstract Recent studies have shown that immune infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment play a role in response to therapy, with some suggesting that patients with immunogenic tumors may receive increased benefit from chemotherapies. We evaluated this hypothesis in early breast cancer by testing the interaction between immune biomarkers and chemotherapy using materials from DBCG77B, a phase III clinical trial where high-risk premenopausal women were randomized to receive chemotherapy or no chemotherapy. Tissue microarrays were evaluated for tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) assessed morphologically on hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides, and by immunohistochemistry for CD8, FOXP3, LAG-3, PD-1 and PD-L1. Following REMARK reporting guidelines, data analyses were performed according to a prespecified statistical plan, using 10-year invasive disease-free survival as the endpoint. Differences in survival probabilities between biomarker groups were evaluated by Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazard ratio analyses and prediction for treatment benefit by an interaction test. Our results showed that stromal TILs were associated with an improved prognosis (HR = 0.93; p-value = 0.03), consistent with previous studies. However, none of the immune biomarkers predicted benefit from chemotherapy in the full study set nor within major breast cancer subtypes. Our study indicates that primary tumors with higher immune infiltration do not derive extra benefit from cyclophosphamide-based cytotoxic chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elahe Shenasa
- Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6H 3Z6, BC, Canada
| | | | - Maj-Britt Jensen
- Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Karama Asleh
- Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6H 3Z6, BC, Canada
| | - Nazia Riaz
- Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6H 3Z6, BC, Canada
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan
| | - Dongxia Gao
- Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6H 3Z6, BC, Canada
| | - Samuel Leung
- Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6H 3Z6, BC, Canada
| | - Bent Ejlertsen
- Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne-Vibeke Laenkholm
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Zealand University Hospital, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Torsten O. Nielsen
- Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6H 3Z6, BC, Canada
- Correspondence:
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24
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Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as a predictive biomarker of response to checkpoint blockers in solid tumors: a systematic review. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2022; 177:103773. [PMID: 35917885 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2022.103773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy is a standard of care in many solid tumors but many patients derive limited benefit from it. There is increasing interest toward tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) since their presence may be related with good outcomes from treatment with immune checkpoint blockers. We aimed at systematically reviewing existing evidence about the role of TILs as possible predictors of response to immunotherapy in solid tumors. We reviewed 1193 records published from January 2010 until December 2021. Associations between TILs and outcomes were observed mainly in melanoma and breast cancer. Overall survival and overall response rate for advanced disease and pathological complete response for early-phase tumors were the most commonly assessed endpoints. No definitive conclusion can be drawn on the predictive role of TILs. Additional studies, exploiting data from prospective, randomized clinical trials should further evaluate TILs also with the aim of identifying standard cut-off to differentiate between high and low TILs.
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25
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Li S, Liu H, Lin Z, Li Z, Chen Y, Chen B, Huang L, Lin X, Yao H. Isoorientin attenuates doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury via the activation of MAPK, Akt, and Caspase-dependent signaling pathways. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2022; 101:154105. [PMID: 35490492 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chemotherapy drugs especially anthracyclines are widely used in the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. However, their clinical application is limited by dose-dependent and irreversible heart injury, which increases the risk of congestive heart failure and heart-related mortality. PURPOSE This study aims to investigate the effect and mechanism of the natural flavonoid isoorientin (ISO) combined with doxorubicin (DOX) on the proliferation of tumor cells and improve the survival rate of DOX-injured cardiomyocytes. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS Cardiomyocyte H9c2 and a variety of tumor cells were used to evaluate the protective effect of ISO on DOX-induced myocardial injury and enhance the anticancer effects of DOX. DOX chemotherapy-injured mice were used to evaluate the cardioprotective effect of ISO. RESULTS The antiproliferation of DOX on Hela, HepG2, HT-29, and A549 cells could be increased synergistically when cotreated with ISO in vitro. ISO could also improve the survival rate of DOX-injured cardiomyocytes by reducing reactive oxygen species, maintaining mitochondrial function, and inhibiting apoptosis. In mice receiving DOX, a protective effect on myocardial tissue, which was reflected by improved survival state of mice receiving chemotherapy, was observed. The ECG, myocardial zymogram data, HE staining, and TEM observation of myocardial tissue sections showed that ISO had a dose-dependent protective effect on the mouse hearts injured by DOX. Network pharmacology and cardiomyocyte proteomics were used to seek for related target proteins to reveal the protective mechanism of ISO on mouse models, and some potential targets (including caspase-3, EGFR, MAPK1, ESR1, CDC42, STAT1, JAK2, LCK, and CDK2) were generated. Western blotting was further used to verify that ISO upregulated Nrf2 and TGF-β3 by downregulating the phosphorylation levels of JNK and p38 proteins on the MAPK pathway and the Akt and Stat3 expression levels. The downregulation of cleaved caspase-3 and upregulation of Bcl-xl by ISO further confirmed its inhibition on caspase-dependent cardiomyocyte apoptosis. CONCLUSION ISO could be a potential synergistic anticancer agent with a favorable property of reducing the cardiotoxicity for DOX, and the effect mechanism could refer to the inhibition of ISO on MAPK and caspase-dependent apoptosis pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoguang Li
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China.
| | - Huilin Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Zhan Lin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Zhijun Li
- Center of Chemistry Experiment, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Yan Chen
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Bing Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Drug Target Discovery and Structural and Functional Research, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Liying Huang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Xinhua Lin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Drug Target Discovery and Structural and Functional Research, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China
| | - Hong Yao
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China; Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Nano Biomedical Technology of Fujian Province, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China.
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26
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Giugliano F, Valenza C, Tarantino P, Curigliano G. Immunotherapy for triple negative breast cancer: How can pathologic responses to experimental drugs in early-stage disease be enhanced? Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2022; 31:855-874. [PMID: 35762248 DOI: 10.1080/13543784.2022.2095260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION : The treatment landscape of early triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has recently expanded after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of pembrolizumab in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The addition of this immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) has shown to significantly increased pathological complete response (pCR) rate and event free survival (EFS) in the KEYNOTE-522 phase 3 trial. Several additional studies are ongoing with the goal of further improving outcomes and achieving an optimal integration of ICIs in the treatment of TNBC. AREAS COVERED : The article examines pCR and survival rates in TNBC. It appraises clinical trials investigating neoadjuvant ICIs for TNBC and the improvement of pCR rates (biomarker-driven escalation of treatment, optimization of chemotherapy backbone and addition of locoregional treatments or innovative agents). Insights on the role of pCR as surrogate endpoint and the possibility of enhancing pCR rates for women affected by early TNBC are offered. EXPERT OPINION : The pharmacopoeia of early TNBC is growing and becoming more heterogeneous with the advent of ICIs; to enhance the clinical benefit of patients, it is necessary to develop response endpoints that consider the mechanism of action of experimental drugs, to optimize patient selection through validated biomarkers, and to compare the most promising treatment strategies in randomized clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Giugliano
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.,Department of Oncology and Haematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Carmine Valenza
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.,Department of Oncology and Haematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Tarantino
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.,Department of Oncology and Haematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.,Breast Oncology Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Giuseppe Curigliano
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.,Department of Oncology and Haematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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27
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Wolf DM, Yau C, Wulfkuhle J, Brown-Swigart L, Gallagher RI, Lee PRE, Zhu Z, Magbanua MJ, Sayaman R, O'Grady N, Basu A, Delson A, Coppé JP, Lu R, Braun J, Asare SM, Sit L, Matthews JB, Perlmutter J, Hylton N, Liu MC, Pohlmann P, Symmans WF, Rugo HS, Isaacs C, DeMichele AM, Yee D, Berry DA, Pusztai L, Petricoin EF, Hirst GL, Esserman LJ, van 't Veer LJ. Redefining breast cancer subtypes to guide treatment prioritization and maximize response: Predictive biomarkers across 10 cancer therapies. Cancer Cell 2022; 40:609-623.e6. [PMID: 35623341 PMCID: PMC9426306 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2022.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Using pre-treatment gene expression, protein/phosphoprotein, and clinical data from the I-SPY2 neoadjuvant platform trial (NCT01042379), we create alternative breast cancer subtypes incorporating tumor biology beyond clinical hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) status to better predict drug responses. We assess the predictive performance of mechanism-of-action biomarkers from ∼990 patients treated with 10 regimens targeting diverse biology. We explore >11 subtyping schemas and identify treatment-subtype pairs maximizing the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate over the population. The best performing schemas incorporate Immune, DNA repair, and HER2/Luminal phenotypes. Subsequent treatment allocation increases the overall pCR rate to 63% from 51% using HR/HER2-based treatment selection. pCR gains from reclassification and improved patient selection are highest in HR+ subsets (>15%). As new treatments are introduced, the subtyping schema determines the minimum response needed to show efficacy. This data platform provides an unprecedented resource and supports the usage of response-based subtypes to guide future treatment prioritization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise M Wolf
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
| | - Christina Yau
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
| | - Julia Wulfkuhle
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Lamorna Brown-Swigart
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Rosa I Gallagher
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Pei Rong Evelyn Lee
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Zelos Zhu
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Mark J Magbanua
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Rosalyn Sayaman
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Nicholas O'Grady
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Amrita Basu
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Amy Delson
- Breast Science Advocacy Core, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Jean Philippe Coppé
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Ruixiao Lu
- Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Jerome Braun
- Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Smita M Asare
- Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Laura Sit
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Jeffrey B Matthews
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | | | - Nola Hylton
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Minetta C Liu
- Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - Paula Pohlmann
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - W Fraser Symmans
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Hope S Rugo
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Claudine Isaacs
- Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20007, USA
| | - Angela M DeMichele
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Douglas Yee
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | | | - Lajos Pusztai
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Emanuel F Petricoin
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Gillian L Hirst
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Laura J Esserman
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Laura J van 't Veer
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
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Blenman KRM, Marczyk M, Karn T, Qing T, Li X, Gunasekharan V, Yaghoobi V, Bai Y, Ibrahim EY, Park T, Silber A, Wolf DM, Reisenbichler E, Denkert C, Sinn BV, Rozenblit M, Foldi J, Rimm DL, Loibl S, Pusztai L. Predictive Markers of Response to Neoadjuvant Durvalumab with Nab-Paclitaxel and Dose-Dense Doxorubicin/Cyclophosphamide in Basal-Like Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:2587-2597. [PMID: 35377948 PMCID: PMC9464605 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-3215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE We examined gene expression, germline variant, and somatic mutation features associated with pathologic response to neoadjuvant durvalumab plus chemotherapy in basal-like triple-negative breast cancer (bTNBC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Germline and somatic whole-exome DNA and RNA sequencing, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) IHC, and stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte scoring were performed on 57 patients. We validated our results using 162 patients from the GeparNuevo randomized trial. RESULTS Gene set enrichment analysis showed that pathways involved in immunity (adaptive, humoral, innate), JAK-STAT signaling, cancer drivers, cell cycle, apoptosis, and DNA repair were enriched in cases with pathologic complete response (pCR), whereas epithelial-mesenchymal transition, extracellular matrix, and TGFβ pathways were enriched in cases with residual disease (RD). Immune-rich bTNBC with RD was enriched in CCL-3, -4, -5, -8, -23, CXCL-1, -3, -6, -10, and IL1, -23, -27, -34, and had higher expression of macrophage markers compared with immune-rich cancers with pCR that were enriched in IFNγ, IL2, -12, -21, chemokines CXCL-9, -13, CXCR5, and activated T- and B-cell markers (GZMB, CD79A). In the validation cohort, an immune-rich five-gene signature showed higher expression in pCR cases in the durvalumab arm (P = 0.040) but not in the placebo arm (P = 0.923) or in immune-poor cancers. Independent of immune markers, tumor mutation burden was higher, and PI3K, DNA damage repair, MAPK, and WNT/β-catenin signaling pathways were enriched in germline and somatic mutations in cases with pCR. CONCLUSIONS The TGFβ pathway is associated with immune-poor phenotype and RD in bTNBC. Among immune-rich bTNBC RD, macrophage/neutrophil chemoattractants dominate the cytokine milieu, and IFNγ and activated B cells and T cells dominate immune-rich cancers with pCR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim RM Blenman
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michal Marczyk
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Data Science and Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
| | | | - Tao Qing
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Xiaotong Li
- Department of Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Vignesh Gunasekharan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Vesal Yaghoobi
- Department of Pathology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Yalai Bai
- Department of Pathology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Eiman Y Ibrahim
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Tristen Park
- Department of Surgery, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Andrea Silber
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Denise M. Wolf
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Mariya Rozenblit
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Julia Foldi
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - David L Rimm
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Pathology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Lajos Pusztai
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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29
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Agostinetto E, Losurdo A, Nader-Marta G, Santoro A, Punie K, Barroso R, Popovic L, Solinas C, Kok M, de Azambuja V, Lambertini M. Progress and pitfalls in the use of immunotherapy for patients with triple negative breast cancer. Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2022; 31:567-591. [PMID: 35240902 DOI: 10.1080/13543784.2022.2049232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an area of high unmet medical need in terms of new effective treatment strategies. Although breast cancer is traditionally considered a 'cold' tumor type, TNBC is the most appropriate subtype for immunotherapeutic strategies; this is due to the high level of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, PD-L1 expression and tumor mutational burden relative to other breast cancer subtypes. AREAS COVERED This review examines the use of immunotherapeutic strategies in early and advanced TNBC. The paper summarizes data on novel promising immunomodulatory approaches that have been explored in early phase trials and discusses the pitfalls and limitations often encountered in clinical research. EXPERT OPINION PD-1-blockade is approved for stage II/III TNBC and for first-line treatment of PD-L1-positive TNBC patients with metastatic disease and should be considered standard of care. However, question marks and difficulties remain; these include the identification of predictive biomarkers to select patients who benefit from the addition of PD1-blockade and the balance between efficacy and long-term toxicity for an individual patient. Numerous treatment combinations and new immunotherapeutic strategies beyond PD1 blockade are being evaluated, thus reflecting a promising evolution of a more personalized approach, and extended clinical benefit in TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Agostinetto
- Academic Trials Promoting Team, Institut Jules Bordet and l'Université Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B), Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy
| | - Agnese Losurdo
- Humanitas Research Hospital - IRCCS, Humanitas Cancer Center, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Guilherme Nader-Marta
- Academic Trials Promoting Team, Institut Jules Bordet and l'Université Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Armando Santoro
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy.,Humanitas Research Hospital - IRCCS, Humanitas Cancer Center, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Kevin Punie
- Department of General Medical Oncology and Multidisciplinary Breast Centre, Leuven Cancer Institute, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Lazar Popovic
- Oncology Institute of Vojvodina, Faculty of Medicine, University Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Cinzia Solinas
- Medical Oncology, ATS Sardegna, Ospedale San Francesco, Nuoro, Italy
| | - Marleen Kok
- Departments of Medical Oncology, Tumor Biology & Immunology. Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Vandro de Azambuja
- Academic Trials Promoting Team, Institut Jules Bordet and l'Université Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Matteo Lambertini
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), School of Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy.,Department of Medical Oncology, U.O.C Clinica di Oncologia Medica, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
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30
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Application of Microfluidic Systems for Breast Cancer Research. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13020152. [PMID: 35208277 PMCID: PMC8877872 DOI: 10.3390/mi13020152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control; breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. Due to early screening and advancements in therapeutic interventions, deaths from breast cancer have declined over time, although breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death among women. Most deaths are due to metastasis, as cancer cells from the primary tumor in the breast form secondary tumors in remote sites in distant organs. Over many years, the basic biological mechanisms of breast cancer initiation and progression, as well as the subsequent metastatic cascade, have been studied using cell cultures and animal models. These models, although extremely useful for delineating cellular mechanisms, are poor predictors of physiological responses, primarily due to lack of proper microenvironments. In the last decade, microfluidics has emerged as a technology that could lead to a paradigm shift in breast cancer research. With the introduction of the organ-on-a-chip concept, microfluidic-based systems have been developed to reconstitute the dominant functions of several organs. These systems enable the construction of 3D cellular co-cultures mimicking in vivo tissue-level microenvironments, including that of breast cancer. Several reviews have been presented focusing on breast cancer formation, growth and metastasis, including invasion, intravasation, and extravasation. In this review, realizing that breast cancer can recur decades following post-treatment disease-free survival, we expand the discussion to account for microfluidic applications in the important areas of breast cancer detection, dormancy, and therapeutic development. It appears that, in the future, the role of microfluidics will only increase in the effort to eradicate breast cancer.
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31
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Van Bockstal MR, François A, Altinay S, Arnould L, Balkenhol M, Broeckx G, Burguès O, Colpaert C, Dedeurwaerdere F, Dessauvagie B, Duwel V, Floris G, Fox S, Gerosa C, Hastir D, Jaffer S, Kurpershoek E, Lacroix-Triki M, Laka A, Lambein K, MacGrogan GM, Marchio C, Martinez MDM, Nofech-Mozes S, Peeters D, Ravarino A, Reisenbichler E, Resetkova E, Sanati S, Schelfhout AM, Schelfhout V, Shaaban A, Sinke R, Stanciu-Pop CM, van Deurzen CHM, Van de Vijver KK, Van Rompuy AS, Vincent-Salomon A, Wen H, Wong S, Bouzin C, Galant C. Interobserver variability in the assessment of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in triple-negative invasive breast carcinoma influences the association with pathological complete response: the IVITA study. Mod Pathol 2021; 34:2130-2140. [PMID: 34218258 PMCID: PMC8595512 DOI: 10.1038/s41379-021-00865-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
High stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are associated with pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Histopathological assessment of sTILs in TNBC biopsies is characterized by substantial interobserver variability, but it is unknown whether this affects its association with pCR. Here, we aimed to investigate the degree of interobserver variability in an international study, and its impact on the relationship between sTILs and pCR. Forty pathologists assessed sTILs as a percentage in digitalized biopsy slides, originating from 41 TNBC patients who were treated with NAC followed by surgery. Pathological response was quantified by the MD Anderson Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) score. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated per pathologist duo and Bland-Altman plots were constructed. The relation between sTILs and pCR or RCB class was investigated. The ICCs ranged from -0.376 to 0.947 (mean: 0.659), indicating substantial interobserver variability. Nevertheless, high sTILs scores were significantly associated with pCR for 36 participants (90%), and with RCB class for eight participants (20%). Post hoc sTILs cutoffs at 20% and 40% resulted in variable associations with pCR. The sTILs in TNBC with RCB-II and RCB-III were intermediate to those of RCB-0 and RCB-I, with lowest sTILs observed in RCB-I. However, the limited number of RCB-I cases precludes any definite conclusions due to lack of power, and this observation therefore requires further investigation. In conclusion, sTILs are a robust marker for pCR at the group level. However, if sTILs are to be used to guide the NAC scheme for individual patients, the observed interobserver variability might substantially affect the chance of obtaining a pCR. Future studies should determine the 'ideal' sTILs threshold, and attempt to fine-tune the patient selection for sTILs-based de-escalation of NAC regimens. At present, there is insufficient evidence for robust and reproducible sTILs-guided therapeutic decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mieke R. Van Bockstal
- Department of pathology, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc Bruxelles, Avenue Hippocrate 10, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert 1200, Belgium
| | - Aline François
- Department of pathology, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc Bruxelles, Avenue Hippocrate 10, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert 1200, Belgium
| | - Serdar Altinay
- Department of Pathology, University of Health Sciences, Bakirköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Health Application and Research Center, 34147 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Laurent Arnould
- Département de Biologie et de Pathologie des Tumeurs, Centre George-François Leclerc, 1 Rue Pr. Marion, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Maschenka Balkenhol
- Department of Pathology, Radboud University Medical Center, PO Box 9100, 6500, HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Glenn Broeckx
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital Antwerp, Drie Eikenstraat 655, 2650 Edegem, Belgium
| | - Octavio Burguès
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, Av. De Blasco Ibáñez 17, 46010 València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Cecile Colpaert
- Department of Pathology, AZ Turnhout Campus Sint-Jozef, Steenweg op Merksplas 44, 2300 Turnhout, Belgium
| | | | - Benjamin Dessauvagie
- Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical School, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia,Anatomical Pathology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Perth, Australia
| | - Valérie Duwel
- Department of pathology, AZ Klina Brasschaat, Augustijnslei 100, 2930 Brasschaat, Belgium
| | - Giuseppe Floris
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium,Department of Imaging and Pathology, Laboratory of Translational Cell & Tissue Research, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stephen Fox
- Department of Pathology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Center and the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia
| | - Clara Gerosa
- Department of Pathology, University of Cagliari, AOU San Giovanni di Dio, Via Ospedale 54, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Delfyne Hastir
- Institute of Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Bugnon 25, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Shabnam Jaffer
- Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai Hospital and Icahn School of Medicine, New York, New York, NY10029 USA
| | | | - Magali Lacroix-Triki
- Department of Pathology, Gustave-Roussy Cancer Campus, 114 Rue Edouard-Vaillant, 94805 Villejuif, France
| | - Andoni Laka
- Department of Pathology, Clinique Notre-Dame de Grâce (CNDG), Chaussée de Nivelles 212, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Kathleen Lambein
- Department of Pathology, AZ St Lucas Hospital, Groenebriel 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Gaëtan Marie MacGrogan
- Surgical Pathology Unit, Department of Pathobiology, Institut Bergonié, F-33076 Bordeaux, France
| | - Caterina Marchio
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Torino, Italy,Pathology Unit, FPO-IRCCS, Candiolo Cancer Institute, Candiolo, Italy
| | | | - Sharon Nofech-Mozes
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Dieter Peeters
- Department of Pathology, AZ St Maarten, Liersesteenweg 435, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium,Histopathology, Imaging and Quantification Unit, HistoGeneX, Sint-Bavostraat 78, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Alberto Ravarino
- Department of Pathology, University of Cagliari, AOU San Giovanni di Dio, Via Ospedale 54, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Emily Reisenbichler
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale New Haven Hospital, 310 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT06510, United States
| | - Erika Resetkova
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX77030, Texas, USA
| | - Souzan Sanati
- Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Rm8612, Los Angeles, CA90048, United States
| | - Anne-Marie Schelfhout
- Department of Pathology, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwziekenhuis Aalst, Moorselbaan 164, 9300 Aalst, Belgium
| | - Vera Schelfhout
- Department of Pathology, AZ St Maarten, Liersesteenweg 435, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
| | - Abeer Shaaban
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2GW, United Kingdom
| | - Renata Sinke
- Pathan BV, Kleiweg 500, 3045 PM Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Claudia M Stanciu-Pop
- Department of Pathology, CHU UCL Namur, Site Godinne, Avenue Docteur G. Thérasse 1, 5530 Yvoir, Belgium
| | - Carolien HM van Deurzen
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Doctor Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Koen K Van de Vijver
- Department of Pathology, Ghent University Hospital, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Anne-Sophie Van Rompuy
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Anne Vincent-Salomon
- Pôle de Médicine Diagnostique & Théranostique, INSERM U934, Institut Curie, 26 Rue d’Ulm, 75248 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Hannah Wen
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065
| | - Serena Wong
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale New Haven Hospital, 310 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT06510, United States
| | - Caroline Bouzin
- 2IP IREC Imaging Platform, Institute of Clinical and Experimental Research (IREC), Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate 55, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Christine Galant
- Department of pathology, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc Bruxelles, Avenue Hippocrate 10, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert 1200, Belgium,Institute of Clinical and Experimental Research (IREC), Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate 55, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
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32
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Van Bockstal MR, Cooks M, Nederlof I, Brinkhuis M, Dutman A, Koopmans M, Kooreman L, van der Vegt B, Verhoog L, Vreuls C, Westenend P, Kok M, van Diest PJ, Nauwelaers I, Laudus N, Denkert C, Rimm D, Siziopikou KP, Ely S, Zardavas D, Roberts M, Floris G, Hartman J, Acs B, Peeters D, Bartlett JM, Dequeker E, Salgado R, Giudici F, Michiels S, Horlings H, van Deurzen CHM. Interobserver Agreement of PD-L1/SP142 Immunohistochemistry and Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) in Distant Metastases of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Proof-of-Concept Study. A Report on Behalf of the International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13194910. [PMID: 34638394 PMCID: PMC8507620 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13194910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) benefit from treatment with atezolizumab, provided that the tumor contains ≥1% of PD-L1/SP142-positive immune cells. Numbers of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) vary strongly according to the anatomic localization of TNBC metastases. We investigated inter-pathologist agreement in the assessment of PD-L1/SP142 immunohistochemistry and TILs. Ten pathologists evaluated PD-L1/SP142 expression in a proficiency test comprising 28 primary TNBCs, as well as PD-L1/SP142 expression and levels of TILs in 49 distant TNBC metastases with various localizations. Interobserver agreement for PD-L1 status (positive vs. negative) was high in the proficiency test: the corresponding scores as percentages showed good agreement with the consensus diagnosis. In TNBC metastases, there was substantial variability in PD-L1 status at the individual patient level. For one in five patients, the chance of treatment was essentially random, with half of the pathologists designating them as positive and half negative. Assessment of PD-L1/SP142 and TILs as percentages in TNBC metastases showed poor and moderate agreement, respectively. Additional training for metastatic TNBC is required to enhance interobserver agreement. Such training, focusing on metastatic specimens, seems worthwhile, since the same pathologists obtained high percentages of concordance (ranging from 93% to 100%) on the PD-L1 status of primary TNBCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mieke R. Van Bockstal
- Department of Pathology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, 1200 Brussels, Belgium;
| | - Maxine Cooks
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center Cancer Institute, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Iris Nederlof
- Division of Tumor Biology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (I.N.); (M.K.)
| | - Mariël Brinkhuis
- Laboratory for Pathology East Netherlands, 7555 BB Hengelo, The Netherlands;
| | | | | | - Loes Kooreman
- Department of Pathology, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC), 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands;
| | - Bert van der Vegt
- Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands;
| | - Leon Verhoog
- Reinier Haga Medical Diagnostic Center, 2625 AD Delft, The Netherlands;
| | - Celine Vreuls
- Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands; (C.V.); (P.J.v.D.)
| | | | - Marleen Kok
- Division of Tumor Biology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (I.N.); (M.K.)
| | - Paul J. van Diest
- Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands; (C.V.); (P.J.v.D.)
| | - Inne Nauwelaers
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Biomedical Quality Assurance Research Unit, University of Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35d, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.L.); (E.D.)
| | - Nele Laudus
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Biomedical Quality Assurance Research Unit, University of Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35d, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.L.); (E.D.)
| | - Carsten Denkert
- Institute of Pathology, Philipps-University Marburg and University Hospital Marburg (UKGM), Baldingerstr. 1, 35043 Marburg, Germany;
| | - David Rimm
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA;
| | | | - Scott Ely
- Translational Medicine, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; (S.E.); (M.R.)
| | - Dimitrios Zardavas
- BMS Oncology Clinical Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA;
| | - Mustimbo Roberts
- Translational Medicine, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; (S.E.); (M.R.)
| | - Giuseppe Floris
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Laboratory of Translational Cell & Tissue Research, KU Leuven–University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium;
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Johan Hartman
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, CCK, Karolinkska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.H.); (B.A.)
- Department of Clinical Pathology and Cytology, Karolinska University Laboratory, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Balazs Acs
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, CCK, Karolinkska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.H.); (B.A.)
- Department of Clinical Pathology and Cytology, Karolinska University Laboratory, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Dieter Peeters
- HistoGenex NV, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium;
- Department of Pathology, AZ Sint-Maarten, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
| | - John M.S. Bartlett
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G OA3, Canada;
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XR, UK
| | - Els Dequeker
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Biomedical Quality Assurance Research Unit, University of Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35d, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.L.); (E.D.)
| | - Roberto Salgado
- Department of Pathology, GZA-ZNA Hospitals, 2050 Antwerp, Belgium;
- Division of Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 8006, Australia
| | - Fabiola Giudici
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Gustave Roussy, University Paris-Saclay, 94805 Villejuif, France; (F.G.); (S.M.)
| | - Stefan Michiels
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Gustave Roussy, University Paris-Saclay, 94805 Villejuif, France; (F.G.); (S.M.)
- Oncostat U1018, Inserm, University of Paris-Saclay, 94807 Villejuif, France
| | - Hugo Horlings
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Carolien H. M. van Deurzen
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +31-107-043-901
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Gonzalez-Ericsson PI, Wulfkhule JD, Gallagher RI, Sun X, Axelrod ML, Sheng Q, Luo N, Gomez H, Sanchez V, Sanders M, Pusztai L, Petricoin E, Blenman KRM, Balko JM. Tumor-Specific Major Histocompatibility-II Expression Predicts Benefit to Anti-PD-1/L1 Therapy in Patients With HER2-Negative Primary Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2021; 27:5299-5306. [PMID: 34315723 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-0607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Immunotherapies targeting PD-1/L1 enhance pathologic complete response (pCR) rates when added to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) regimens in early-stage triple-negative, and possibly high-risk estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. However, immunotherapy has been associated with significant toxicity, and most patients treated with NAC do not require immunotherapy to achieve pCR. Biomarkers discerning patients benefitting from the addition of immunotherapy from those who would achieve pCR to NAC alone are clearly needed. In this study, we tested the ability of MHC-II expression on tumor cells, to predict immunotherapy-specific benefit in the neoadjuvant breast cancer setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a retrospective tissue-based analysis of 3 cohorts of patients with breast cancer: (i) primary nonimmunotherapy-treated breast cancers (n = 381), (ii) triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) treated with durvalumab and standard NAC (n = 48), and (iii) HER2-negative patients treated with standard NAC (n = 87) or NAC and pembrolizumab (n = 66). RESULTS HLA-DR positivity on ≥5% of tumor cells, defined a priori, was observed in 10% and 15% of primary non-immunotherapy-treated hormone receptor-positive and triple-negative breast cancers, respectively. Quantitative assessment of MHC-II on tumor cells was predictive of durvalumab + NAC and pembrolizumab + NAC (ROC AUC, 0.71; P = 0.01 and AUC, 0.73; P = 0.001, respectively), but not NAC alone (AUC, 0.5; P = 0.99). CONCLUSIONS Tumor-specific MHC-II has a strong candidacy as a specific biomarker of anti-PD-1/L1 immunotherapy benefit when added to standard NAC in HER2-negative breast cancer. Combined with previous studies in melanoma, MHC-II has the potential to be a pan-cancer biomarker. Validation is warranted in existing and future phase II/III clinical trials in this setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula I Gonzalez-Ericsson
- Breast Cancer Research Program, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Julia D Wulfkhule
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia
| | - Rosa I Gallagher
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia
| | - Xiaopeng Sun
- Program in Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Margaret L Axelrod
- Program in Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Quanhu Sheng
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Na Luo
- Anatomy and Histology, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Henry Gomez
- Department of Medical Oncology, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas, Lima, Perú
| | - Violeta Sanchez
- Breast Cancer Research Program, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Melinda Sanders
- Breast Cancer Research Program, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Lajos Pusztai
- Department of Internal Medicine Section of Medical Oncology and Yale Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Emanuel Petricoin
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia
| | - Kim R M Blenman
- Department of Internal Medicine Section of Medical Oncology and Yale Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. .,Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Justin M Balko
- Breast Cancer Research Program, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee. .,Program in Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
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Pusztai L, Yau C, Wolf DM, Han HS, Du L, Wallace AM, String-Reasor E, Boughey JC, Chien AJ, Elias AD, Beckwith H, Nanda R, Albain KS, Clark AS, Kemmer K, Kalinsky K, Isaacs C, Thomas A, Shatsky R, Helsten TL, Forero-Torres A, Liu MC, Brown-Swigart L, Petricoin EF, Wulfkuhle JD, Asare SM, Wilson A, Singhrao R, Sit L, Hirst GL, Berry S, Sanil A, Asare AL, Matthews JB, Perlmutter J, Melisko M, Rugo HS, Schwab RB, Symmans WF, Yee D, Van't Veer LJ, Hylton NM, DeMichele AM, Berry DA, Esserman LJ. Durvalumab with olaparib and paclitaxel for high-risk HER2-negative stage II/III breast cancer: Results from the adaptively randomized I-SPY2 trial. Cancer Cell 2021; 39:989-998.e5. [PMID: 34143979 PMCID: PMC11064785 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2021.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The combination of PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab and PARP inhibitor olaparib added to standard paclitaxel neoadjuvant chemotherapy (durvalumab/olaparib/paclitaxel [DOP]) was investigated in the phase II I-SPY2 trial of stage II/III HER2-negative breast cancer. Seventy-three participants were randomized to DOP and 299 to standard of care (paclitaxel) control. DOP increased pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in all HER2-negative (20%-37%), hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative (14%-28%), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (27%-47%). In HR-positive/HER2-negative cancers, MammaPrint ultra-high (MP2) cases benefited selectively from DOP (pCR 64% versus 22%), no benefit was seen in MP1 cancers (pCR 9% versus 10%). Overall, 12.3% of patients in the DOP arm experienced immune-related grade 3 adverse events versus 1.3% in control. Gene expression signatures associated with immune response were positively associated with pCR in both arms, while a mast cell signature was associated with non-pCR. DOP has superior efficacy over standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-negative breast cancer, particularly in a highly sensitive subset of high-risk HR-positive/HER2-negative patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lajos Pusztai
- Breast Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Steet, PO Box 208032, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
| | - Christina Yau
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Denise M Wolf
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Hyo S Han
- Medical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Lili Du
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Anne M Wallace
- Comprehensive Breast Health Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Erica String-Reasor
- Department of Hematology & Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
| | - Judy C Boughey
- Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - A Jo Chien
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Anthony D Elias
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Heather Beckwith
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Rita Nanda
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Kathy S Albain
- Hematology/Oncology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60153, USA
| | - Amy S Clark
- Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Kathleen Kemmer
- Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Kevin Kalinsky
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Claudine Isaacs
- Lombardi Comprehensive Care Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20007, USA
| | - Alexandra Thomas
- Medical Oncology and Hematology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
| | - Rebecca Shatsky
- Comprehensive Breast Health Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Theresa L Helsten
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Andres Forero-Torres
- Department of Hematology & Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
| | - Minetta C Liu
- Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - Lamorna Brown-Swigart
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Emmanuel F Petricoin
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Julia D Wulfkuhle
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Smita M Asare
- Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Amy Wilson
- Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Ruby Singhrao
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Laura Sit
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Gillian L Hirst
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Scott Berry
- Berry Consultants, LLC, Austin, TX 78746, USA
| | | | - Adam L Asare
- Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Jeffrey B Matthews
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | | | - Michelle Melisko
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Hope S Rugo
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Richard B Schwab
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - W Fraser Symmans
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Doug Yee
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Laura J Van't Veer
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Nola M Hylton
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Angela M DeMichele
- Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | | | - Laura J Esserman
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
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Foldi J, Rozenblit M, Park TS, Knowlton CA, Golshan M, Moran M, Pusztai L. Optimal Management for Residual Disease Following Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy. Curr Treat Options Oncol 2021; 22:79. [PMID: 34213636 DOI: 10.1007/s11864-021-00879-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OPINION STATEMENT Treatment sequencing in early-stage breast cancer has significantly evolved in recent years, particularly in the triple negative (TNBC) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive subsets. Instead of surgery first followed by chemotherapy, several clinical trials showed benefits to administering systemic chemotherapy (and HER2-targeted therapies) prior to surgery. These benefits include more accurate prognostic estimates based on the extent of residual cancer that can also guide adjuvant treatment, and frequent tumor downstaging that can lead to smaller surgeries in patients with large tumors at diagnosis. Patients with extensive invasive residual cancer after neoadjuvant therapy are at high risk for disease recurrence, and two pivotal clinical trials, CREATE-X and KATHERINE, demonstrated improved recurrence free survival with adjuvant capecitabine and ado-trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1) in TNBC and HER2-positive residual cancers, respectively. Patients who achieve pathologic complete response (pCR) have excellent long-term disease-free survival regardless of what chemotherapy regimen induced this favorable response. This allows escalation or de-escalation of adjuvant therapy: patients who achieved pCR could be spared further chemotherapy, while those with residual cancer could receive additional chemotherapy postoperatively. Ongoing clinical trials are testing this strategy (CompassHER2-pCR: NCT04266249). pCR also provides an opportunity to assess de-escalation of locoregional therapies. Currently, for patients with residual disease in the lymph nodes (ypN+), radiation therapy entails coverage of the undissected axilla, and may include supra/infraclavicular/internal mammary nodes in addition to the whole breast or chest wall, depending on the type of surgery. Ongoing trials are testing the safety of omitting post-mastectomy breast and post-lumpectomy nodal irradiation (NCT01872975) as well as omitting axillary lymph node dissection (NCT01901094) in the setting of pCR. Additionally, evolving technologies such as minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring in the blood during follow-up may allow early intervention with "second-line systemic adjuvant therapy" for patients with molecular relapse which might prevent impending clinical relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Foldi
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Mariya Rozenblit
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Tristen S Park
- Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Christin A Knowlton
- Department of Therapeutic Radiation, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Mehra Golshan
- Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Meena Moran
- Department of Therapeutic Radiation, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Lajos Pusztai
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
- Breast Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, 300 George St, Suite 120, Rm 133, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
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36
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Yi H, Li Y, Tan Y, Fu S, Tang F, Deng X. Immune Checkpoint Inhibition for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Current Landscape and Future Perspectives. Front Oncol 2021; 11:648139. [PMID: 34094935 PMCID: PMC8170306 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.648139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the lack of clinically significant levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Owing to the aggressive nature and the emergence of resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, patients with TNBC have a worse prognosis than other subtypes of breast cancer. Currently, immunotherapy using checkpoint blockade has been shown to produce unprecedented rates of long-lasting responses in patients with a variety of cancers. Although breast tumors, in general, are not highly immunogenic, TNBC has a higher level of lymphocyte infiltration, suggesting that TNBC patients may be more responsive to immunotherapy. The identification/characterization of immune checkpoint molecules, i.e., programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1), programmed cell death ligand 1 (PDL1), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4), represents a major advancement in the field of cancer immunotherapy. These molecules function to suppress signals downstream of T cell receptor (TCR) activation, leading to elimination of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and suppression of anti-tumor immunity. For TNBC, which has not seen substantial advances in clinical management for decades, immune checkpoint inhibition offers the opportunity of durable response and potential long-term benefit. In clinical investigations, immune checkpoint inhibition has yielded promising results in patients with early-stage as well as advanced TNBC. This review summarizes the recent development of immune checkpoint inhibition in TNBC, focusing on humanized antibodies targeting the PD1/PDL1 and the CTLA4 pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimei Yi
- Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Stem Cell Research, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
- Departments of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Hunan Normal University School of Medicine, Changsha, China
| | - Ying Li
- Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Stem Cell Research, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
- Departments of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Hunan Normal University School of Medicine, Changsha, China
| | - Yuan Tan
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Oncotarget Gene, Changsha, China
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Hunan Cancer Hospital & the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Shujun Fu
- Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Stem Cell Research, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
- Departments of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Hunan Normal University School of Medicine, Changsha, China
| | - Faqing Tang
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Oncotarget Gene, Changsha, China
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Hunan Cancer Hospital & the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Xiyun Deng
- Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Stem Cell Research, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
- Departments of Pathology and Pathophysiology, Hunan Normal University School of Medicine, Changsha, China
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