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Emerging treatment approaches for triple-negative breast cancer

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Abstract

Approximately, 15% of global breast cancer cases are diagnosed as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), identified as the most aggressive subtype due to the simultaneous absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2. This characteristic renders TNBC highly aggressive and challenging to treat, as it excludes the use of effective drugs such as hormone therapy and anti-HER2 agents. In this review, we explore standard therapies and recent emerging approaches for TNBC, including PARP inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitors, and cytotoxin-conjugated antibodies. The mechanism of action of these drugs and their utilization in clinical practice is explained in a pragmatic and prospective manner, contextualized within the current landscape of standard therapies for this pathology. These advancements present a promising frontier for tailored interventions with the potential to significantly improve outcomes for TNBC patients. Interestingly, while TNBC poses a complex challenge, it also serves as a paradigm and an opportunity for translational research and innovative therapies in the field of oncology.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Daniela Capobianco for her technical editing and writing assistance. We also acknowledge the “Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro I Tumori (LILT)-sezione di Napoli” and the TRIAL scientific association (CF: 92088670622) for their invaluable and unwavering collaboration on this work.

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This research received no external funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pharmaceutical Department, ASL Napoli 3, Ercolano, 80056, Naples, Italy

    Maurizio Capuozzo & Venere Celotto

  2. Istituto Nazionale Tumori di Napoli, IRCCS “G. Pascale”, via M. Semmola, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Mariachiara Santorsola, Antonio Fabozzi, Vincenza Granata, Marco Cascella, Francesco Perri & Alessandro Ottaiano

  3. Sanitary District, Ds. 58 ASL Napoli 3, Pompei, 80045, Naples, Italy

    Loris Landi

  4. Pharmaceutical Department, ASL Napoli 3, Via Dell’amicizia 22, Nola, 80035, Naples, Italy

    Francesco Ferrara

  5. Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council, IPCB-CNR, Naples, Italy

    Assunta Borzacchiello

  6. Oncology Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Baronissi, 84081, Salerno, Italy

    Francesco Sabbatino

  7. AMES, Centro Polidiagnostico Strumentale Srl, Via Padre Carmine Fico 24, Casalnuovo Di, 80013, Naples, Italy

    Giovanni Savarese

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  1. Maurizio Capuozzo
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Contributions

Conceptualization: MC and AO; methodology; FP, VC, and Marco Cascella; software: Mariachiara Santorsola; validation: FF, VG, AB, and FS; investigation: MC and AO; resources: OG and GS; data curation: OG, LL, AF, and GS; writing—original draft preparation: all authors; writing—review and editing: AO, AF, and MC. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alessandro Ottaiano.

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Capuozzo, M., Celotto, V., Santorsola, M. et al. Emerging treatment approaches for triple-negative breast cancer. Med Oncol 41, 5 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-023-02257-6

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