Clinical trial · Interventional
Safety and Efficacy Study of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in Combination With Chemotherapy as Neoadjuvant Treatment for Participants With Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) (MK-3475-173/KEYNOTE-173)
A Phase 1b Study to Evaluate Safety and Clinical Activity of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in Combination With Chemotherapy as Neoadjuvant Treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) - (KEYNOTE 173)
NCT02622074CI-TRIAL-00047058completedPhase 1Results postedClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrialsProvenance
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and clinical activity of pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in combination with six chemotherapy regimens as neoadjuvant treatment for participants with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms | Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (6)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthracycline (doxorubicin) | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Carboplatin | Drug | Carboplatin | ALIAS |
| Cyclophosphamide | Drug | Cyclophosphamide | ALIAS |
| Nab-paclitaxel | Drug | Nab-paclitaxel | ALIAS |
| Paclitaxel | Drug | Paclitaxel | ALIAS |
| Pembrolizumab | Biological | Pembrolizumab | ALIAS |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (6)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Cohort A: KNp / KAC
- description
- Participants receive pembrolizumab (K) 200 mg on Cycle 1 Day 1 followed by pembrolizumab 200 mg in Cycles 2-5 on Day 1 (once every 3 weeks; Q3W) PLUS nab-paclitaxel (KNp) starting at 125 mg/m\^2 in Cycles 2-5 on Days 1, 8 and 15 (once each week; QW). This will be followed by pembrolizumab (K) 200 mg in Cycles 6-9 on Day 1 (Q3W) PLUS doxorubicin (A) 60 mg/m\^2 in Cycles 6-9 on Day 1 (Q3W) PLUS cyclophosphamide (C) 600 mg/m\^2 in Cycles 6-9 on Day 1 (Q3W). All treatments will be administered via intravenous (IV) infusion except for doxorubicin (A), which will be administered via IV injection. Each cycle is 21 days.
- interventionNames
- Biological: Pembrolizumab
- Drug: Nab-paclitaxel
- Drug: Anthracycline (doxorubicin)
- Drug: Cyclophosphamide
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Cohort B: KNpCb (Regimen 1) / KAC
- description
- Participants first receive KNpCb Regimen 1 which consists of: pembrolizumab (K) 200 mg on Cycle 1 Day 1 PLUS nab-paclitaxel (KNp) starting at 100 mg/m\^2 in Cycles 2-5 on Days 1, 8 and 15 (QW) PLUS carboplatin (Cb) starting at Area Under the Curve (AUC) 6 in Cycles 2-5 on Day 1 (Q3W). This will be followed by pembrolizumab (K) 200 mg in Cycles 6-9 on Day 1 (Q3W) PLUS doxorubicin (A) 60 mg/m\^2 in Cycles 6-9 on Day 1 (Q3W) PLUS cyclophosphamide (C) 600 mg/m\^2 in Cycles 6-9 on Day 1 (Q3W). All treatments will be administered via IV infusion except for doxorubicin (A), which will be administered via IV injection. Each cycle is 21 days.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Has previously untreated, locally advanced TNBC. * Is able to provide 2 core needle biopsies from the primary tumor at screening to the central laboratory and agrees to have a core needle biopsy after single dose pembrolizumab treatment if tumor biopsy is feasible as judged by the investigator. * Has Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. * Has adequate organ function. * Females of childbearing potential must be willing to use adequate contraception for the course of the study through 12 months after the last dose of study drug for participants receiving cyclophosphamide and through 6 months after the last dose of study drug for participants who do not receive cyclophosphamide. Exclusion Criteria: * Has evidence of metastatic breast cancer, concurrent bilateral invasive breast cancer, or inflammatory breast cancer. * Has another malignancy within the last 5 years. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative surgery, or in situ cervical cancer. * Has received prior chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy that targets immune checkpoints, co-stimulatory or co-inhibitory pathways for T cell receptors within the past 12 months. * Is currently participating and receiving study therapy, or has participated in a study of an investigational agent and received study therapy or used an investigational device within 4 weeks of the first dose of study drug. * Has received a live vaccine within 30 days of the first dose of study drug. * Has an active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in past 2 years. * Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of study drug. * Has a known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). * Has known active Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. * Has evidence of current pneumonitis. * Has a history of non-infectious pneumonitis requiring treatment with steroids or a history of interstitial lung disease. * Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy. * Has significant cardiovascular disease, such as: History of myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome or coronary angioplasty/stenting/bypass grafting within the last 6 months; Congestive heart failure (CHF) New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II-IV or history of CHF NYHA class III or IV * Has known psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the study. * Is pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive children within the projected duration of the study, starting with the screening visit through 12 months after the last dose of trial treatment for participants who have received cyclophosphamide, and for six months after the last dose of study medication for participants who have not. * Has a known hypersensitivity to the components of the study drug or its analogs.
References
Publications (3)
- RESULTSchmid P, Salgado R, Park YH, Munoz-Couselo E, Kim SB, Sohn J, Im SA, Foukakis T, Kuemmel S, Dent R, Yin L, Wang A, Tryfonidis K, Karantza V, Cortes J, Loi S. Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment of high-risk, early-stage triple-negative breast cancer: results from the phase 1b open-label, multicohort KEYNOTE-173 study. Ann Oncol. 2020 May;31(5):569-581. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2020.01.072. Epub 2020 Feb 14. PMID 32278621
- DERIVEDDent R, Cortes J, Park YH, Munoz-Couselo E, Kim SB, Sohn J, Im SA, Holgado E, Foukakis T, Kummel S, Yearley J, Wang A, Nebozhyn M, Huang L, Cristescu R, Jelinic P, Karantza V, Schmid P. Molecular determinants of response to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in patients with high-risk, early-stage, triple-negative breast cancer: exploratory analysis of the open-label, multicohort phase 1b KEYNOTE-173 study. Breast Cancer Res. 2025 Mar 11;27(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s13058-024-01946-y. PMID 40069763
- DERIVEDPerez-Garcia J, Soberino J, Racca F, Gion M, Stradella A, Cortes J. Atezolizumab in the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2020 Sep;20(9):981-989. doi: 10.1080/14712598.2020.1769063. Epub 2020 May 25. PMID 32450725