Pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, showed promising results in the treatment of different types of solid tumors and generally an improvement in overall survival and patients’ outcome. However, as a drug that targets the immune system to enhance the anti-tumor response, it simultaneously increases the risk of autoimmune reactions, producing immune-related adverse events (irAEs). These irAEs might involve any body organ, and in some cases may lead to treatment discontinuation. In this article, we discuss two cases of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, who developed irAEs during the course of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab, highlighting the mechanism of the reactions, possible clinical manifestations, and potential management.
Ardakani et al. (Sun,) studied this question.