Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer

This trial tests whether a reduced treatment plan after surgery can effectively manage early breast cancer while minimizing side effects. It targets patients whose cancer responded completely to pre-surgery therapies, meaning no cancer cells remain in their blood. The trial includes treatments like pembrolizumab (an immunotherapy) for triple-negative breast cancer and trastuzumab (with or without pertuzumab) for HER2-positive breast cancer. Suitable candidates have early-stage triple-negative or HER2-positive breast cancer, have completed initial treatments successfully, and are open to discontinuing further standard treatments. As a Phase 2 trial, this research measures the treatment's effectiveness in an initial, smaller group of participants.

The trial requires participants to stop taking standard adjuvant systemic therapy, such as trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or pembrolizumab, after surgery. It does not specify other medications, so you should discuss your current medications with the trial team.

In earlier studies, pembrolizumab helped patients with triple-negative breast cancer live longer. However, some patients experienced serious immune-related side effects, such as inflammation in the lungs or liver.

Research has shown that trastuzumab and pertuzumab are usually well-tolerated. Most side effects are mild to moderate, including diarrhea or fatigue. Serious side effects can occur but are less common.

Researchers are excited about these treatments because they combine immunotherapy with targeted therapy to tackle breast cancer more effectively. Pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy, helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells, which is different from traditional chemotherapy that directly kills rapidly dividing cells. Trastuzumab and pertuzumab are targeted therapies that specifically block HER2-positive cancer cells from growing, providing a more precise approach than standard options. This combination approach aims to enhance the body's ability to fight cancer while minimizing damage to healthy cells, offering hope for improved outcomes.

This trial will evaluate different immunotherapy treatments for breast cancer. Research has shown that combining pembrolizumab with chemotherapy helps patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) live longer compared to chemotherapy alone. In everyday medical practice, 64.8% of patients experienced complete cancer disappearance with this combination treatment. In this trial, participants with TNBC may receive pembrolizumab as part of their treatment.