Immune-related adverse events as predictors of pathological complete response in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer treated with pembrolizumab
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: PURPOSE: Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy improved pathological complete response (pCR) rates in early triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the relationship between immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and treatment response remains unclear. This study evaluated the association between the development of irAEs and pCR in TNBC patients receiving neoadjuvant pembrolizumab-based therapy. METHOD: In this multicenter retrospective study, early TNBC patients who received neoadjuvant pembrolizumab-based therapy were evaluated. Clinicopathologic features, irAE occurrence, and pCR rates were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: = 0.01). Both univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed a significant association between irAE development and pCR. CONCLUSION: In patients with early TNBC treated with neoadjuvant pembrolizumab, irAEs occurred more often in those achieving pCR. These findings suggest that irAEs may reflect enhanced immune activation and could serve as a potential indicator of treatment response. Further prospective studies are needed to validate this observation and clarify its clinical relevance.
Source: Immunotherapy
Authors: Ali Kaan Güren, Nazım Can Demircan, Özge Gümüşay, Eda Tanrıkulu Şimşek, Fatih Kemik, Çağla Karaoğlu, Taha Koray Şahin, Salih Tünbekici, Kübra Akkaya, Murad Guliyev, Barış Gezici, Hasibe Bilge Gür, Delyadil Karakaş, Ahmet Ünlü, Oğuz Altunok, İsmail Nazlı, Sedat Biter, Tuğba Kaya, Özge Yetginoğlu, Tuğçe Kübra Güneş, Lamia Şeker Can, Nargiz Majidova, Nadiye Sever, Aysun Fatma Akkuş, İsmail Oğuz Kara, Banu Öztürk, Adem Deligönül, Muhammet Ali Kaplan, Elif Atağ, İlhan Hacıbekiroğlu, Nebi Serkan Demirci, Fatih Selçuk Biricik, Deniz Can Güven, Sercan Aksoy, Rukiye Arıkan, Murat Sarı, İbrahim Vedat Bayoğlu, Osman Köstek
Institutions: Marmara University, Acıbadem University, Koç University, Bursa Uludağ Üni̇versi̇tesi̇, Hacettepe University, Ege University, Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, İzmir Şehir Hastanesi, Sakarya Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Dicle University, Antalya Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Bakırköy Dr.Sadi Konuk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Cukurova University, Dr Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Dokuz Eylül University, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Hastanesi, Ümraniye Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi, Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi Hastanesi, Haydarpaşa Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Trakya University
Language: English
Subfield: Cancer Research
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7155072267