Efficacy of durvalumab for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer examined by race

Among patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate for durvalumab added to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is 46 percent, with similar rates for African American (AA) and non-AA patients, according to a study published online July 29 in Clinical Cancer Research.

Julia Foldi, M.D., Ph.D., from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues examined the safety and efficacy of durvalumab concurrent with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for stage I to III TNBC by race in a study involving 67 patients. pCR was assessed as the primary efficacy end point.

Twenty-one of the patients self-identified as AA (31 percent). The researchers found no significant associations between race and baseline tumor stage, programmed death-ligand 1 status, or stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte count. The pCR rate was 46 percent overall, with similar rates for AA and non-AA patients (43 and 48 percent, respectively). In non-AA and AA patients, the three-year event-free survival rates were 78.3 and 71.4 percent, respectively, and three-year overall survival was 87 and 81 percent, respectively; the differences were not statistically significant. Incidences of immune-related adverse events were similar for AA and non-AA patients.

"These results suggest that when patients receive identical treatment and are monitored closely, disparities in outcomes can be mitigated or even abolished," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, which manufactures durvalumab and funded the study.

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