Remarkable response with pembrolizumab plus albumin-bound paclitaxel in 2 cases of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who have failed to multi-anti-HER2 targeted therapy

ABSTRACT

In clinical practice, one subgroup patients of breast cancer might have developed resistance to multi-anti-HER2 targeted drugs(trastuzumab, lapatinib and/or T-DM1) and can not benefit from the anti-HER2 targeted therapy continuously. We attempt to change the next therapic way for these patients. Two patients with metastatic breast cancer who have failed to multi-anti-HER2 targeted therapy were treated with pembrolizumab (2 mg/Kg, day1) plus albumin-bound paclitaxel (125 mg/m², day1,8) every 3 weeks. CT evaluation and HER2 ECD test were performed every 2 cycles. Both of the two patients achieved remarkable response with Partial Remission (PR), meanwhile serum HER2 ECD levels (the upper normal limit is 15 ng/ml) showed a remarkable decreases(compared to the base line decreases 75% and 60% respectively). The results indicate that regimen of pembrolizumab combination with albumin-bound paclitaxel might produce response in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who have failed to multi-anti-HER2 targeted therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• Albumin-bound paclitaxel
• Pembrolizumab
• metastatic breast cancer
• multi-anti-HER2 targeted therapy

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

Our sincere gratitude to the patients for their permission to use the data and pictures for this paper, and to the colleagues of the Pathology department and the Laboratory of Oncology in Chinese PLA 307 Hospital.

Additional information

Funding

The National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant number 81602314].