Open AccessCombination Immunotherapy Strategies in Breast Cancer
Author(s) -
Brie Chun,
David B. Page,
Heather L. McArthur
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
current breast cancer reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.467
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1943-4596
pISSN - 1943-4588
DOI - 10.1007/s12609-019-00333-3
Subject(s) - medicine , breast cancer , immunotherapy , surgical oncology , immune system , oncology , tumor microenvironment , radiation therapy , metastatic breast cancer , clinical trial , cancer , immune checkpoint , immunology
Purpose of Review We summarize combination immunotherapy strategies for the treatment of breast cancer, with a focus on metastatic disease. First, a general overview of combination approaches is presented according to breast cancer subtype. Second, additional review of promising combination approaches is presented. Recent Findings Combination strategies utilizing chemotherapy or radiotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibition are being evaluated across multiple phase III trials. Dual immunotherapy strategies, such as dual immune checkpoint inhibition or combined co-stimulation/co-inhibition, have supportive preclinical evidence and are under early clinical investigation. Modulation of the immune microenvironment via cytokines and vaccination strategies, as well as locally focused treatments to enhance antigenic responses, are active areas of research. Summary Pre-clinical and translational research sheds new light on numerous ways the immune system may be modulated to fight against cancer. We describe current and emerging combination approaches which may improve patient outcomes in metastatic breast cancer.