Pembrolizumab adjuvant therapy for treating Triple-Negative breast cancer

Pembrolizumab is in clinical development as an adjuvant treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In this type of cancer, the cells don’t have receptors for oestrogen, progesterone, and a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), therefore cannot be treated with hormonal or targeted therapy. TNBC is usually more aggressive, harder to treat, and more likely to come back. Adjuvant therapy is a type of cancer treatment given after the initial treatment to reduce the risk of the cancer returning. The likely outcome or chance of recovery for these patients is typically extremely poor, so there is a need to develop additional treatment options.