Atezolizumab + Chemo After Surgery Does Not Improve Survival for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, March 28, 2024 -- Patients with triple-negative breast cancer do not benefit from the addition of atezolizumab to their postsurgery chemotherapy treatment, according to a study presented at the annual European Breast Cancer Conference, held from March 20 to 22 in Milan.
Heather McArthur, M.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues conducted a phase 3 trial that investigated the efficacy and safety of adjuvant atezolizumab (atezo) plus standard anthracycline/taxane chemothreapy (atezo + chemo) versus standard anthracycline/taxane chemotherapy (chemo alone) in stage II to III triple-negative breast cancer. The analysis included roughly 32 months of median follow-up and 266 invasive disease-free survival events (iDFS).
The researchers found no improvement in survival or recurrence-free survival for patients treated with atezolizumab versus those not treated with atezolizumab. Among the patients taking atezolizumab, 12.8 percent had a recurrence or died versus 11.4 percent not taking atezolizumab (hazard ratio [HR], 1.11; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.87 to 1.42). Similar results were seen for iDFS in the PD-L1-positive subset (HR, 1.00; 95 percent CI, 0.73 to 1.35), iDFS in the node-positive subset (HR, 1.32; 95 percent CI, 0.97 to 1.80), and overall survival (HR, 1.23; 95 percent CI, 0.87 to 1.73). Incidence of grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events occurred among 54.3 percent in the atezo + chemo arm versus 44.1 percent in the chemo-alone arm.
"The results of this final analysis are important because they show that including the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab alongside chemotherapy does not help when it’s given to patients following surgery," McArthur said in a statement. "By extension, this also highlights the importance of treating triple-negative breast cancer with chemotherapy and immunotherapy prior to surgery, as per the current standard of care."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted March 2024
Read this next
USPSTF Recommends Breast Cancer Screening for Women Aged 40 to 75 Years
TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends breast cancer screening for women aged 40 to 75 years, but evidence is insufficient for...
Variation ID'd in Risk for Second Primary Cancer After Breast Cancer
TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 -- The risk for second primary cancer (SPC) after breast cancer (BC) varies with gender, age, and socioeconomic status, according to a study published...
AI Model Reduces False Positives in Screening Mammograms
THURSDAY, April 25, 2024 -- A semiautonomous breast cancer screening system reduces false positives with screening mammograms, according to a study published online April 10 in...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.