Current applications of tumor local ablation (TLA) combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors in breast cancer treatment

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women globally, posing significant challenges to treatment because of the diverse and complex pathological and molecular subtypes. The emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has revolutionized the treatment of breast cancer, particularly for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), significantly improving patient outcomes. However, the overall tumor response rate remains suboptimal due to drug resistance to ICIs. This resistance is primarily due to the immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), tumor cells’ ability to evade immune surveillance, and other complex immune regulatory mechanisms. To address these challenges, clinical researchers are actively exploring combinatorial therapeutic strategies with ICIs. Tumor local ablation (TLA) technology is anticipated to overcome resistance to ICIs and enhance therapeutic efficacy by ablating tumor tissue, releasing tumor antigens, remodeling the TME, and stimulating local and systemic immune responses. Combination therapy with TLA and ICIs has demonstrated promising results in preclinical breast cancer studies, underscoring the feasibility and importance of addressing drug resistance mechanisms in breast cancer. This provides novel strategies for breast cancer treatment and is expected to drive further advancements in the field.