Immunotherapy for aggressive breast cancer appears to be effective even without chemotherapy – The Netherlands Cancer Institute

The Netherlands Cancer Institute posted on LinkedIn:

“Immunotherapy as a treatment for an aggressive form of breast cancer appears to be effective even without chemotherapy, according to research from the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Patients with triple-negative breast cancer and a high number of immune cells saw a complete disappearance of the tumor after only immunotherapy treatment. This would be a significant advancement as it could prevent overtreatment and side effects associated with chemotherapy.

Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive type of breast cancer that often grows fast and metastasizes more quickly than other types of breast cancer. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 women in the Netherlands are diagnosed with this type of cancer every year.

The current standard treatment consists of four types of chemotherapy in combination with immunotherapy. It is not currently clear, however, which patients benefit from this combination treatment, and which patients are subject to over-treatment: when patients are unnecessarily exposed to more therapies than they need, which can lead to unnecessary side effects.

Medical oncologist and researcher Marleen Kok: ‘Previous international research has shown that adding immunotherapy to standard chemotherapy treatment improves the survival in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. The BELLINI trial may offer an alternative for these patients.’

In the trial, the researchers show that immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab can be an effective treatment for triple-negative breast cancer. These drugs boost the immune system, which can help to prevent over-treatment and side effects associated with chemotherapy.

The results of the trial were presented on the 16th of September by PhD candidate and pathology resident Iris Nederlof at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Barcelona, and have been published in Nature Medicine.”

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Source: The Netherlands Cancer Institute/LinkedIn