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Immunotherapies use the power of your immune system to find and fight breast cancer cells.
A healthy immune system attacks bacteria, viruses and sometimes harmful cells, like cancer cells. It leaves harmless cells alone. Sometimes, cancer cells survive by sending false signals that make them look harmless, which tricks the immune system.
Breast Cancer Care Tailored to You
You and your family are our top priority. At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, we offer comprehensive and compassionate care — personalized to you. You'll have access to the latest treatment options, clinical trials and supportive care services.
How Immunotherapy Is Used for Breast Cancer Treatment
Medicines called immune checkpoint inhibitors block the false signals sent by cancer cells. This allows your natural defenses to work better. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are now approved for some patients with triple-negative breast cancer (and many other types of solid tumors).
Fred Hutch has been a leader in developing cellular immunotherapy. With this treatment, a patient’s own immune cells (lymphocytes) are genetically changed in a laboratory to attack certain proteins on cancer cells. Examples of cellular immunotherapy include chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR T-cell therapy) and T-cell receptor (TCR) therapy. These therapies, while promising, have not been approved for breast cancer yet. Patients may choose to join clinical trials testing these new approaches.
Immunotherapy Drugs for Breast Cancer
The options for breast cancer include:
- Atezolizumab (Tecentriq®). This is used in people with advanced triple-negative breast cancer that makes the protein PD-L1.
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®). This is used for other cancers that have a certain molecular change called microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or DNA mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR). Pembrolizumab is approved for:
- Patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer expressing PD-L1
- Patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer in combination with chemotherapy before surgery
Why Choose Fred Hutch for Immunotherapy
Fred Hutch Cancer Center is a leader in developing immunotherapies and giving patients early access through clinical trials.
We’re actively working on clinical trials of immunotherapy agents, like more immune checkpoint inhibitors and cellular immunotherapy, already used for some other cancers.
Common side effects may include:
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Rash
If your Fred Hutch care team recommends immunotherapy, we’ll explain what to expect based on the medicine you’re getting and how to manage these side effects.
Your Fred Hutch care team will talk with you about what to expect. We’ll let you know how to deal with any effects you might experience — and how to reach us for support after hours if that’s when you need us. The best measures will depend on which side effects you haves so it's important to let your care team know how you are feeling. We’ll tailor your care to you.