Effects of different targeted therapies associated with adjuvant chemotherapy on clinical remission, survival and safety in patients with triple-negative breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically assess the effects of different targeted therapies associated with adjuvant chemotherapy on clinical remission, survival and safety of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Materials and methods: This study searched for case-control trials of TNBC patients from January 2010 to May 2022. Two researchers independently extracted data. RevMan 5.3 statistical software was used for analysis.

Results: This study included a total of 7 clinical controlled studies, containing 620 samples. The results showed that compared with the control group, the study group showed significant differences in objective response rate [OR = 2.44, 95% CI (1.69, 3.5), p < 0.00001], 1-year survival rate [OR = 3.59, 95% CI (2.01, 6.39), p < 0.0001], progression-free survival (PFS) [MD = 2.04, 95% CI (1.68, 2.41), p < 0.00001], with statistical significance (p < 0.05), while there are no significant differences in overall survival [MD = 6.33, 95% CI (-1.65, 14.30), p = 0.12] and incidence of adverse events [OR = 0.73, 95% CI (0.52, 1.02), p = 0.006] (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Targeted therapy associated with adjuvant chemotherapy can remarkably enhance the outcome of patients with advanced TNBC, prolonging their progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) without increasing adverse effects. The validity of this research, however, will require higher quality studies and longer follow-ups.