ESMO 2021 | BARBICAN: ipatasertib plus atezolizumab and chemotherapy in TNBC

Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, FRCP, Barts Cancer Institute, London, UK, discusses the results of the international, randomized, open-label neoadjuvant Phase II BARBICAN study (NCT03800836) which aims to evaluate the effects of adding ipatasertib, an AKT inhibitor, to chemotherapy and atezolizumab in patients with metastatic, high-risk triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive treatment with or without ipatasertib; there was no significant difference in pathological complete response (pCR) between both cohorts and pCR was higher in PD-L1-positive patients. Increased toxicity was observed in the ipatasertib cohort, with rash and diarrhea being the most common adverse events. This interview took place at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2021 congress.