Emergence of immune-related adverse events correlates with pathological complete response in patients receiving pembrolizumab for early triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract

Based upon results of the KEYNOTE-522 trial and following approval by regulatory authorities, the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy is now the standard-of-care for the treatment of early triple-negative breast cancer (eTNBC) (Clinical stage II-III). Pembrolizumab is a programmed cell death protein 1 monoclonal antibody, known to cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in a significant subset of patients. Real-world data on incidence, type and treatment strategies of irAEs in the setting of eTNBC treatment are sparse. In this multicenterretrospective analysis, we characterized real-world incidence of irAEs and treatment outcomes such as pathological complete response (pCR) from the combination of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment for eTNBC.