ABSTRACT
Programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a pair of T cell immune response co-stimulatory molecules play a negative role in adoptive immunity by inhibiting T lymphocyte function. Blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway has been a hot spot of research and treatment of cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer, and there is no approved targeted therapy. Immunotherapy represented by PD-1/PD-L1 blockers, is getting widely studied due to the medical potential of therapy for TNBC. Thereinto, the clinical researches of the monoclonal antibodies against PD-1 or PD-L1 have brought a promising future for the treatment of metastatic TNBC. Currently, there are several trials with anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies and their combination with other therapies in salvage, neoadjuvant, and adjuvant settings on going. In this article, the authors review the current studies about potential value of PD-1/PD-L1 in prognosis, prediction, and treatment in TNBC, intending to cast insight on future basic and clinical studies.