Study Reveals Chemo-Chemotherapy Combination Extends Life of Women With Aggressive Breast Cancer

This is good news for tris-negative women. Breast cancer, a form of aggressive, hard-to-treat bad cancer that targets women under 50.

A new study published Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that a combination of chemotherapy and antibody-based drugs was teaching the woman's immune system. attacking cancer cells, sometimes prolonging life for almost a year

"This is the first time that immunotherapy has acted on a cancer that is so difficult to treat, and represents a huge step forward for these patients suffering from Breast cancer, "said lead author, Peter Schmid, of Queen Mary University in London, in a statement. He presented his findings at the conference of the European Society of Medical Oncology in Munich, Germany on Saturday.

"This is a real breakthrough that will allow us to help more people," said Dr. Larry Norton, Memorial Oncologist Sloan Kettering. who was not involved in the study. "Once we get regulatory approval, I think it will change the standard of care."

Triple negative bad cancer

About one in ten bad cancers is triple negative, according to the National Breast. Foundation against cancer. It is most likely to affect Hispanic and African-American women and those with a BRCA1 gene mutation. It also tends to attack women aged 40 to 50 years.

"It is particularly tragic that the people affected are often young," said Schmid, and will likely continue to raise families. "We were desperate for better treatment options."

When bad cancer cells do not give estrogen, progesterone, or human epidermal growth factor (HER2), this is known as triple negative bad cancer. Therefore, it does not meet any of the available hormonal treatments for cancer.

He responds to chemotherapy. However, for most women, cancer cells quickly develop resistance to chemotherapy. This allows aggressive cancer to spread to other parts of the body, reducing survival rates.

In this trial, the combination of drugs and chemotherapy prolonged the 10-month progression-free survival for some women, the study revealed. The risk of spread of cancer in other parts of the body and the risk of death have also been reduced by 40%.

"This is only the beginning of the use of immunotherapy for bad cancer," said Norton, director of the board of directors. Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at Memorial Cancer Center Sloan Kettering.

Scientists are learning "so much and so quickly about other ways to boost the immune system," Norton said, predicting an "explosion of studies designed to advance the agenda.

How does it work?

The new treatment combines the medicine of atezolizumab immunotherapy with traditional chemotherapy.

In a normal state, the immune system does not attack the cancer cells because Atezolizumab comes in. It's an antibody that binds to the cancer cell, and its job is to inactivate a protein called PD-L1, which is supposed to tell the Immune system "do not attack me."

It is also necessary to resort to chemotherapy to "harden" the outside of the cancer cell, explained Schmid., This allows the newly developed immune system to recognize and attack the invader.

"We use chemotherapy to snatch the" immune protective coat "from the tumor, to expose it," said Schmid, "allowing the immune system each one to make it happen. "

The Phase 3 study enrolled more than 900 women in 246 sites in 41 countries, randomly badigned to receive atezolizumab and chemotherapy, or placebo and chemotherapy.

Standard chemotherapy was administered to all patients. the week. Atezolizumab was administered intravenously every two weeks.

Women who received immunotherapy and chemotherapy survived without cancer progression for an average of 7.5 months, more than two months longer than women using chemotherapy and placebo.

positive test for PD-L1, especially high levels of protein, the response was even better. By the end of the trial, these women had added another 2.5 months to their lives.

"We are particularly encouraged by the fact that some patients live without recurrence for an extended period," Norton said. "Discovering why these patients are doing so much better than others will be an important topic for future research."

The trial was funded by Roche, the manufacturer of atezolizumab.