Researchers have found a new way to use immunotherapy, a breakthrough mode of cancer treatment which harnesses the patient’s immune system, to treat an aggressive form of breast cancer.
The researchers have shown, for the first time, that combining two immunotherapy drugs could be effective in treating triple negative breast cancers arising in women with BRCA1 mutations.
Immunotherapy works by boosting the body’s immune cells to attack tumors and has been a ‘game-changer’ for treating melanoma and lung cancers. The findings suggest that clinical trials of combined immunotherapy should be considered in women with these breast cancers.
“Our study showed that combining anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 immunotherapies with chemotherapy halted the growth of BRCA1-related tumours and significantly improved survival in laboratory models,” [said Professor Lindeman, a medical oncologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital].
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Associate Professor Sherene Loi, head of breast cancer clinical trials research at Peter Mac and for the Parkville precinct, said work was already underway to translate these important findings from laboratory models of breast cancer into a clinical trial for women with the disease.
[Read the full study here (behind paywall)]
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