This study looked at how well adding the immunotherapy drug sintilimab to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy worked for patients with triple-negative breast cancer. The team analyzed data from 61 patients treated at The First Hospital of Lanzhou University. They compared those who received chemotherapy plus sintilimab against those who received chemotherapy by itself.
The results showed that the combination group had a significantly higher objective response rate of 85.2% compared to 58.8% for chemotherapy alone. Additionally, the rate of pathological complete response was 59.3% in the combination group versus 32.4% in the chemotherapy-only group. The combination group also had lower Ki-67 levels after treatment, which often indicates slower tumor growth.
Regarding safety, the overall incidence of adverse events was comparable between the two groups. However, leukopenia, or low white blood cell counts, was more frequent in the group receiving sintilimab. Despite this, the researchers noted that the combination regimen showed a manageable safety profile with no reported serious adverse events or discontinuations. Readers should understand that because this was a retrospective study, it shows an association rather than proving causation. These findings come from a single center and may not apply to all patients or settings.
