Pembrolizumab in the Treatment of Breast Cancer

Treatment for triple-negative breast cancers has always been perceived as a north face (an allusion to the fact that the north face of a mountain in the northern hemisphere is usually the most formidable and challenging for mountain climbers), and numerous studies have failed to confirm that particular treatments confer a substantial benefit. In this issue of the Journal, Cortes et al.(1) report that pembrolizumab - a breakthrough therapeutic treatment for patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer - combined with chemotherapy prolonged overall survival among these patients. These results confirm the relationship between programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and . . .

Automated summary

The study confirms the efficacy of pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy in prolonging overall survival of patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer, providing a breakthrough therapeutic treatment for this patient population.