Introduction
Atezolizumab (trade name: Tecentriq) has been approved in Germany since August 2019 for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer in women if it is metastatic or locally advanced and can’t be surgically removed. This medication is combined with nab-paclitaxel and is considered as a treatment option if the cancer has a certain amount of cells with the programmed death ligand 1 (at least 1%) and the patient has not yet had any chemotherapy.
The breast cancer is surgically removed, if possible. But sometimes the tumor has already become too large or the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). It is then called advanced breast cancer.
The growth of tumor cells in breast cancer is influenced by various factors. Some breast cancer cells have certain receptors, for example for the hormones estrogen and progesterone, or for the human epidermal growth factor HER2. Breast cancer that doesn't have many of these kinds of receptors is called triple-negative breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer is more aggressive than other types of breast cancer.
Some women have breast cancer cells that have the protein PD-L1 (programmed death ligand 1). PD-L1 stops the body’s immune system from being able to fight the cancer cells effectively.
Atezolizumab binds to PD-L1, and is believed to activate the immune system.
