The therapy, Tecentriq, is approved to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors express PD-L1, a protein that often disguises cancer cells, helping them avoid detection by the immune system. The FDA approved Tecentriq in combination with the chemotherapy drug Abraxane to treat the cancer.
The FDA approval was based on a trial that revealed the immunotherapy helped prolong the disease’s advance by 7.4 months, compared to 4.8 months with just chemotherapy.
“This Tecentriq combination is the first cancer immunotherapy regimen to be approved in breast cancer, representing a meaningful step forward in the understanding of this disease,” Sandra Horning, MD, Roche’s CMO, told Reuters.
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