A UT Southwestern Medical Center study found that an alternative triple-negative breast cancer treatment regimen produced similar results to regular treatment options.
Researchers hope the study results lead to higher quality of life for these cancer patients.
Study co-leader Heather McArthur, M.D., M.P.H. expressed excitement at the results. “We think it’s very encouraging to achieve the same results with less chemotherapy, less immunotherapy, and less toxicity by reconfiguring the timing of the radiation that most triple-negative breast cancer patients receive,” she said.
66 of participating patients “patients received two doses of pembrolizumab immunotherapy along with radiation before chemotherapy chosen by their doctors, and then followed by surgery.” The majority of them had triple-negative breast cancer and the rest had hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, according to a release.
More than half of the triple-negative breast cancer patients “experienced a total pathologic complete response.” Less than half (41%) experienced serious toxicity. Additionally, “the significantly shorter treatment timeline also meant that those who responded to the new protocol were finished with cancer therapy far sooner, eliminating a significant number of doctor visits.”
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
