Key clinical point: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) with nab-paclitaxel plus pembrolizumab followed by epirubicin/cyclophosphamide demonstrated encouraging pathological complete response (pCR) rates and an acceptable safety profile in patients with early triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Major finding: The pCR rate was 66.0% in patients who received nab-paclitaxel containing NACT+ pembrolizumab, and high pCR rates were observed in both groups of patients who did (59.6%) and did not (73.9%) receive prechemotherapy single dose of pembrolizumab. Neutropenia (26.4%), fever (11.3%), and other blood and lymphatic system disorders (9.4%) were the most common grade 3/4 adverse events.
Study details: Findings are from the phase 2, NeoImmunoboost trial including 50 patients with primary nonmetastatic TNBC who received nab-paclitaxel+pembrolizumab followed by epirubicin/cyclophosphamide+pembrolizumab.
Disclosures: This study was partially funded by Merck Sharp & Dohme and other sources. Some authors declared participating on advisory boards for or receiving honoraria, research grants, or travel support from several sources.
Source: Fasching PA, Hein A, et al. 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 (Jan 24). Doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.01.001