Highlights
- •Immune checkpoint blockade has demonstrated poor results in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer.
- •Signaling through estrogen receptor produces immune suppressive changes in the breast tumor microenvironment.
- •Combinatorial approaches appear to augment antitumor responses in patients with hormone-receptor positive disease.
Abstract
Anti-programmed cell death protein 1 immunotherapy has been incorporated in the treatment
algorithm of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, clinical trial results
for patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive disease appear less compelling. HR-positive
tumors exhibit lower levels of programmed death-ligand 1 expression in comparison
with their triple-negative counterparts. Moreover, signaling through estrogen receptor
alters the immune microenvironment, rendering such tumors immunologically “cold.”
To explain differential responses to immune checkpoint blockade, this review interrogates
differences between HR-positive and TNBC. Starting from distinct genomic features,
we further present disparities concerning the tumor microenvironment and finally,
we summarize early-phase clinical trial results on promising novel immunotherapy combinations.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 06, 2022
Accepted:
June 29,
2022
Received in revised form:
May 21,
2022
Received:
November 17,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
