Review Article

Immunotherapeutic Approaches in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: State of the Art and Future Perspectives

Table 1

The main studies of immune checkpoint inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer.

Disease settingTrialPhaseDrugLineNumber of patientsPD-L1 statusEndpoints

Advanced PD-L1+ TNBCKEYNOTE-012, NCT01848834IbPembrolizumab≥127PD-L1 expression in stroma or ≥1% of tumor cellsORR: 18.5%
6-month PFS: 24.4%
mPFS: 1.9 months
mOS: 11.2 months
24-month OS: 22%
Cohort A: advanced, previously treated, any PD-L1 TNBCKEYNOTE-086, NCT02447003IIPembrolizumabCohort A: >1Cohort A: 170Cohort A: —Cohort A:
ORR: 5.3%
mPFS: 2 months
mOS: 8.9 months
Cohort B: advanced, untreated PD-L1+ TNBCCohort B: 1Cohort B: 84Cohort B: Cohort B:
ORR: 21.4%
mPFS: 2.1 months
mOS: 18 months
Advanced TNBC unselected for PD-L1ENHANCE-1, NCT02513472Ib/IIPembrolizumab+eribulin mesylate≥182ORR: 25.6%
mPFS: 4.1 months
mOS: NE
Metastatic, previously treated, PD-L1+ TNBCKEYNOTE-119, NCT02555657IIIPembrolizumab vs. chemotherapy>1622: mOS: 10.7 vs. 10.2 months ()
: mOS: 12.7 vs. 11.6 months ()
Previously untreated, locally recurrent, inoperable TNBCKEYNOTE-355, NCT02819518IIIPembrolizumab+chemotherapy vs. placebo chemotherapy1847: mPFS: 9.7 vs. 5.6 months ()
: mPFS: 7.6 vs. 5.6 months ()
ITT: mPFS: 7.5 vs. 5.6 months
Metastatic TNBC after induction treatmentTONIC, NCT02499367IINivolumab>3
Cohort 1 (no induction): 12
Cohort 2 (radiotherapy): 12
Cohort 3 (cyclophosphamide): 12
Cohort 4 (cisplatin): 13
Cohort 5 (doxorubicin): 17
ORR:
Overall: 20%
Cohort 1: 17%
Cohort 2: 8%
Cohort 3: 8%
Cohort 4: 23%
Cohort 5: 35%
Advanced TNBC unselected for PD-L1NCT01375842IAtezolizumab≥1115
ORR: 10% (, 12.7% in PD-L1+)
mPFS: 1.4 months by RECIST, 1.9 by irRECIST
mOS: 8.9 months ()
Advanced, untreated TNBC unselected for PD-L1IMpassion130, NCT02425891IIIAtezolizumab+nab-paclitaxel vs. placebo+nab-paclitaxel1902 (1 : 1)ITT: mPFS: 7.2 vs. 5.5 months ()
mOS: 21.3 vs. 17.6 months ()
: mPFS: 7.5 vs. 5 months ()
mOS: 25 vs. 15.5 months
Metastatic TNBC unselected for PD-L1JAVELIN, NCT01772004IAvelumab>1168 (58 TNBC)ORR: 5.2% (PD-L1+: 22.2% vs. PD-L1-: 2.6%)
mPFS: 1.5 months
mOS: 9.2 months
Neoadjuvant TNBCI-SPAY 2, NCT01042379IIPembrolizumab+paclitaxel vs. paclitaxel250 randomized: 69 experimental arms (29 TNBC) and 181 control armspCR: 60% vs. 20%
Neoadjuvant TNBCKEYNOTE-522, NCT03036488IIIPembrolizumab+chemotherapy vs. placebo+chemotherapy1174 randomized: 784 experimental arms and 390 control armspCR: 64.8% vs. 51.2% ()
Neoadjuvant TNBCGeparNuevo, NCT02685059IIDurvalumab+nab-paclitaxel vs. placebo+nab-paclitaxel174pCR: 53.4% vs. 44.2%
Neoadjuvant TNBCNeoTRIP, NCT02620280IIIAtezolizumab+carboplatin+nab-paclitaxel vs. carboplatin+nab-paclitaxel280pCR: 43.5% vs. 40.8% ()

PD-L1+: expression in stroma or ≥1% of tumor cells by immunohistochemistry; CPS: combined positive score; ORR: objective response rate; OS: overall survival; PD-L1: programmed death-ligand 1; PFS: progression-free survival; RECIST: response evaluation criteria in solid tumors; irRECIST: immune-related response evaluation criteria in solid tumors; TNBC: triple-negative breast cancer; NE: not estimable; ITT: intention to treat; pCR: pathologic complete response.