Successful Use of Cytokines in Combined Breast Cancer Treatment: a Case Study

BACKGROUND: Treatment of HER2/neu-positive breast cancer poses significant challenges. Approximately 50% of patients do not achieve near-complete tumor regression with standard neoadjuvant antitumor therapy. New approaches are needed to minimize the adverse effects of targeted therapies and maintain their effectiveness. One solution is cytokine-based gene therapy, which uses a combination of interferon gamma and a recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF)/thymosin α1 hybrid. CASE DESCRIPTION: A female patient with histologically confirmed non-luminal, HER2/neu-positive breast cancer (cT2N3M0, stage III; estrogen receptor: 0, progesterone receptor: 0, HER2/neu 3+, Ki67 70%) received two treatment cycles of paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab and presented due to poor treatment tolerance. Cytokine-based genetic therapy (interferon gamma + recombinant TNF/thymosin α1) was added to the standard treatment regimen. The quality of life improved after two cycles of combined treatment. Complete tumor regression in the breast, as well as in the axillary and supraclavicular lymph nodes, was confirmed after eight treatment cycles through mammography, computed tomography, and a histopathological examination of the resected breast tissue. The treatment resulted in an increase in TNFα levels and Karnofsky Performance Scale Index. The patient is still receiving maintenance circles of cytokine-based gene therapy. CONCLUSION: The addition of cytokine-based genetic therapy to the neoadjuvant regimen improved patients’ quality of life, increased the effectiveness of antitumor treatment, and resulted in complete tumor regression.