Complete Response of Chemo-Refractory Metastatic Metaplastic Breast Cancer to Paclitaxel-Immunotherapy Combination

• Published in: The American journal of case reports Vol. 20; pp. 1630 - 1635
• Main Authors: Al Sayed, Adher D, Elshenawy, Mahmoud A, Tulbah, Asma, Al-Tweigeri, Taher, Ghebeh, Hazem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States International Scientific Literature, Inc 06-11-2019
• Subjects: Antibodies, Monoclonal - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - therapeutic use; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - secondary; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - therapy; Female; Humans; Immunotherapy; Middle Aged; Paclitaxel - therapeutic use; Therapies, Investigational; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms - secondary; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms - therapy
• ISSN: 1941-5923; 1941-5923
• DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.918770

BACKGROUND Metaplastic breast cancer (MPBC) is a rare subtype of breast cancer that is difficult to manage and is resistant to therapy. Immunotherapy is becoming a promising option for care of several types of cancers including triple negative breast cancer. CASE REPORT We present a case of a patient with chemo-refractory metastatic metaplastic-type of breast cancer with failures to 3 active lines of chemotherapy. The patient achieved a complete and sustained response to chemo-immunotherapy combination with acceptable tolerability and minimal adverse events. The treatment was a combination of anti-PD-L1 antibody (durvalumab) immunotherapy in combination with the chemotherapeutic agent, paclitaxel. CONCLUSIONS This is the first case reporting the successful use of durvalumab and paclitaxel combination for treatment of triple negative breast cancer in general, and in metastatic MPBC in specific.