The KEYNOTE-355 study established the role of pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of advanced TNBC. This phase III trial enrolled 847 treatment-naïve patients with advanced TNBC who were randomized to receive pembrolizumab or placebo combined with chemotherapy
8. The pembrolizumab group in the population with a combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 10 had a significantly prolonged median progression-free survival [PFS] (9.7 months
vs. 5.6 months, HR = 0.65) and improved median OS (23.0 months
vs. 16.1 months, HR = 0.73)
9. The phase 3 TORCHLIGHT trial demonstrated that adding toripalimab to nab-paclitaxel significantly improved survival outcomes with a manageable safety profile in PD-L1-positive patients with advanced TNBC
10. However, not all ICIs have achieved positive results. The IMpassion130 study initially demonstrated that atezolizumab combined with chemotherapy improved PFS and OS in PD-L1-positive advanced TNBC but the final OS analysis failed to reach the pre-specified statistical threshold
11. The IMpassion131 study also yielded negative results, failing to demonstrate a PFS or OS benefit. This finding in the IMpassion131 study might represent replacement of the chemotherapy backbone drug with solvent-based paclitaxel and pre-treatment corticosteroids, which might have weakened initiation of anti-tumor immunity and the effect of PD-L1 blockade
12. The IMpassion131 results were in contrast to the IMpassion130 results, which was based on albumin-bound paclitaxel. IMpassion132 involved a biologically unfavorable, early recurrent TNBC population. Atezolizumab combined with chemotherapy failed to improve OS, even in the PD-L1 positive population (median OS: 15.4 months
vs. 15.9 months, HR = 1.10). This finding might be because the population is rich in treatment option heterogeneity and immune exclusion/exhaustion phenotypes
13. In such cases, PD-L1 status alone is insufficient to capture the microenvironment responsive to ICIs.