Triplet combination of chemotherapy, CD40 agonist, and Flt3 ligand in triple-negative breast cancer

Sangeetha M. Reddy, MD, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, discusses a mouse model study which assessed the clinical efficacy of the novel triplet combination of anthracycline chemotherapy, a CD40 agonist, and an Flt3 ligand in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The efficacy of the triplet therapy was compared to the efficacy of each agent alone and each potential doublet combination of agents. The triplet therapy was found to be significantly better at controlling mouse TNBC than any other individual agent or pairing of agents. The triplet therapy also outperformed chemotherapy and PD1 immune checkpoint blockade, the standard-of-care chemotherapy for breast cancer patients. Comprehensive flow cytometry studies revealed that the triplet therapy enhanced the number of dendritic cells and DC1 cells and activated dendritic cells and subsequent T-cell memory responses. Further mechanistic studies shall be performed, and a clinical trial of the triplet therapy in metastatic TNBC patients (NCT05029999) has just opened. This interview took place at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA.