New strategies for the management of triple-negative breast cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review highlights important changes in our understanding of triple-negative breast cancer. It highlights important novel approaches in treatment and reviews predicts potential challenges facing the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. RECENT FINDINGS: There is a clear shift away from chemotherapy-centric approaches to the treatment of breast cancer, and instead, a move towards incorporating immune checkpoint inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates, and other targeted therapies. There is a focus on understanding biomarkers and leveraging novel targets in drug development. SUMMARY: It is now standard of care to use neoadjuvant combination immunotherapy-chemotherapy in patients with Stage 1 and 2 breast cancers. Chemo-immunotherapy combinations when appropriate biomarkers are present (PD-L1) are standard first-line therapy in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Antibody-drug conjugates are now a mainstay in the treatment of this disease. These findings have shifted the treatment paradigm of the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.