Dr. Schmid on the Design and Findings of the KEYNOTE-173 Trial in TNBC

Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, lead at the Centre for Experimental Cancer Medicine, Barts Cancer Institute, discusses the phase Ib study of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with chemotherapy for patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

The KEYNOTE-173 trial (NCT02622074) is a 6-cohort, phase Ib study of neoadjuvant platinum/taxane chemotherapy in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with locally advanced TNBC. The study sought to determine the safety and tolerability as well as establish a recommended phase II dose for further evaluation.

Sixty patients enrolled, with a median age of 48.5 years (26-71). Patients received 9 cycles of therapy prior to surgery, approximately 3 to 6 weeks later. To be eligible, women ≥18 years had to have a new diagnosis of locally advanced, treatment-naïve TNBC, with an ECOG score of 0 or 1, and stable organ function. Median follow-up was 19.6 months (4.0-27.4 months). At the time of data cutoff, 78.3% patients completed neoadjuvant therapy and 21.7% discontinued treatment.