Atezolizumab and Nab-Paclitaxel in Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

This study wanted to see how well two medications worked in treating advanced triple negative breast cancer, atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and nab-paclitaxcel (Abraxane).  The study found that using these two medications together improved survival in these patients.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is breast cancer that does not have receptors for certain hormones called estrogen, progesterone, or HER2. Some types of breast cancer can be positive for a receptor on a cell called PD-L1. Cells that are PD-L1 positive are sometimes harder to kill. It is thought that if you stop this receptor from working, it will make anti-cancer medications work better. Atezolizumab is currently used to treat TNBC which cannot be surgically removed. It is not known if adding nab-paclitaxcel will help make atezolizumab work better.

This study consisted of 902 patients. All of these patients had TNBC. All of the patients either had cancer which could not be surgically removed, or cancer that had spread. Half of the patients (451 patients) were treated with atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxcel. The other half were treated with a placebo pill plus nab-paclitaxcel. This is called the control group. The patients were followed for an average of 12.9 months after treatment.

In the patients who received treatment with atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxcel, the cancer did not grow for an average of 7.2 months. The control groups cancer did not grow for an average of 5.5 months. In patients with PD-LI positive tumors, the results were slightly different. In the patients with PD-L1 positive tumors who received treatment with atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxcel, the cancer did not grow for an average of 7.5 months. The control group with PD-L1 positive tumors found that the cancer did not grow for an average of 5.0 months.

In the patients who received treatment with atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxcel, they survived for an average of 21.3 months. The control group survived for an average of 17.6 months. In patients with PD-LI positive tumors, the results were slightly different. In the patients with PD-L1 positive tumors who received treatment with atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxcel, they survived for an average of 25.0 months. The control group with PD-L1 positive tumors survived for an average of 15.5 months.

The authors found that treatment with atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxcel in patients with advanced TNBC resulted in longer times when the cancer did not grow, and longer overall survival.

This is a good study, and quite large which means the results may be more reliable.

Discuss your treatment plan with your oncologist regarding your options for treatment.