Immunotherapy with breast cancer is becoming increasingly important for aggressive tumors and end-stage cancer, especially when other types of therapy fail. Specialists from the Booking Health company talk about standard and experimental methods, general principles, benefits, and prospects of immunotherapy for breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women.
Standard immunotherapy
To date, only one drug has been approved for breast cancer immunotherapy in the developed world. This is the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda). It is used for metastatic, recurrent cancer, and is also included in the adjuvant (postoperative) treatment of stage 2-3 cancer.
This drug is an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPI). It is used with chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer. If the doctor is not sure about the effectiveness of this type of immunotherapy for the patient, a PD-L1 protein test may be prescribed to clarify the diagnosis.
The drug interacts with lymphocyte receptors, “turning off” checkpoints that curb the immune attack on the tumor. This prevents cancer cells from pretending to be normal and evading the immune response.
In addition, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are somewhat related to immunotherapy. These are antibodies to which chemotherapy drugs are attached. The goal of the antibodies is to deliver the drugs directly to the cancer cells. The ADC targets a specific molecular target: HER2 or Trop-2.
Experimental methods
About one thousand clinical trials of various immunotherapies for breast cancer are currently underway worldwide. In 60% of these trials, immunotherapeutic agents are used exclusively in breast cancer patients, without enrolling patients with other cancers.
The most promising experimental treatment regimens, methods, and drugs include the following:
- Cancer vaccines: peptide, dendritic cell, and DNA vaccines.
- Various ICPI drugs and their combination with other types of treatment.
- CAR T-cell therapy. Immune cells are harvested from the patient, their genetic material is modified to create chimeric receptors, and they are reinjected into the body. These cells become more active in attacking the tumor.
- TIL therapy. In this treatment, lymphocytes are harvested from the tumor, isolated as the most aggressive to the tumor, cultured to increase their numbers, and administered intravenously. Studies have shown good results from the use of TIL in combination with cytokines (interleukin-2) and ICPIs.
- Oncolytic viruses. Several virus-based drugs that destroy cancer cells have been developed, but so far they have not been very successful in research and have not had a significant impact on survival rates.
Experimental immunotherapies are typically used in cases where standard treatments have failed. In addition, some therapies are used as part of clinical trials after surgery to treat early-stage cancers, typically the more aggressive types, in the hope of further reducing the risk of recurrence compared to standard therapy.
Benefits of immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is currently considered to be the most promising area in oncology. It has led to breakthroughs in the treatment of many diseases. We now expect breakthroughs in breast cancer treatment. The general principle of immunotherapy is that the drugs used are not themselves cytotoxic, making most immunotherapy options safe for the patient. This treatment works primarily by stimulating the immune response against the cancer.
Immunotherapy is:
- Personalized
- Minimally toxic
- Compatible with most other cancer therapies
The treatment is well tolerated and usually does not require too much time from the patient. Many immunotherapies are compatible with each other, so doctors can expect better results when using multiple methods to stimulate the anti-tumor immune response at the same time.
If you want to have breast cancer immunotherapy in Germany or another developed European country, you should visit the Booking Health website. This is a convenient service for choosing a clinic, where you can see prices, find a suitable cancer center, make an appointment for your preferred dates, and make travel arrangements.