ABSTRACT
Advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease (high probability of visceral metastasis) with poor outcome. Triple negative breast cancer is characterized by lack of expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), high histologic grade, and high mitotic rate. Chemotherapy remains the primary systemic treatment, with international guidelines supporting the use of single-agent taxanes (with or without bevacizumab) or anthracyclines as first-line therapy, with a median overall survival of approximately 18 months or less. Given the suboptimal outcomes with chemotherapy, new targeted therapies for advanced TNBC are urgently needed. This review summarizes the current status of treatment, and future challenges of using new treatment options for advanced TNBC, such as poly-adenosine-diphosphate-ribose-polymerase inhibitors (olaparib and talazoparib) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (eg atezolizumab) as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy.
