Single-center phase 2 trial of neoadjuvant anlotinib plus chemotherapy for clinical stage II or III triple-negative breast cancer

Anlotinib is a multi-TKI with a broad spectrum of inhibitory effects on tumor angiogenesis and growth. The phase 2 neoALTAL trial at Army Medical University (Chongqing, China) evaluated the combination of neoadjuvant anlotinib plus chemotherapy (taxane and lobaplatin) for clinical stage II or III triple-negative breast cancer. Primary endpoint was pathological complete response. pCR was seen in 57.8% of patients and residual cancer burden class 0-1 in 86.7%. There was no disease progression of death during the neoadjuvant therapy. Grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 64% of patients. The authors conclude that the neoadjuvant combination of anlotinib and chemotherapy showed manageable toxicity and encouring antitumor activity among patients with stage II or III TNBC.