Patient-reported outcomes from the randomized ALICE trial evaluating the addition of atezolizumab to anthracycline-based chemotherapy in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer

K G Svalheim; N K Andresen; C Bjerre; B Gilje; E H Jakobsen; R S Falk; B Naume; S Kaasa; J A Kyte

doi:10.1016/j.breast.2026.104704

Patient-reported outcomes from the randomized ALICE trial evaluating the addition of atezolizumab to anthracycline-based chemotherapy in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer

Breast. 2026 Jan 19:86:104704. doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2026.104704. Online ahead of print.

Authors

K G Svalheim¹, N K Andresen², C Bjerre³, B Gilje⁴, E H Jakobsen⁵, R S Falk⁶, B Naume⁷, S Kaasa⁷, J A Kyte⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
² Department of Clinical Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Cancer Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Norway.
³ Department of Oncology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁴ Department of Hematology and Oncology, Stavanger University Hospital, Norway.
⁵ Department of Oncology, Sygehus Sønderjylland, Sønderborg, Denmark.
⁶ Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
⁷ Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
⁸ Department of Clinical Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Cancer Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Norway; Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: jonky@ous-hf.no.

Abstract

Background: The ALICE trial demonstrated that adding atezolizumab to anthracycline-based immunomodulatory chemotherapy improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC), including those with PD-L1-negative tumors. Here, we report the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

Methods: Patients were randomized to receive chemotherapy plus atezolizumab (atezo-chemo) or chemotherapy plus placebo (placebo-chemo). PROMs were collected at baseline and weeks 9, 17, 25, and 49 using the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL, Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ), and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain.

Results: PROMs were available from 64 of 68 patients. At week 9, mean changes from baseline favored the atezo-chemo arm across all QLQ-C15-PAL domains, CFQ scores, and NRS pain intensity. Time-to-deterioration analyses also favored atezo-chemo, with statistically significant hazard ratios for global quality of life (QoL; HR 0.24), emotional functioning (HR 0.30), and pain (HR 0.20). Pain-a pre-specified cardinal symptom-improved in the atezo-chemo group at all time points. At 12 months, PROMs indicated sustained tolerability. Better baseline PROM scores were associated with improved PFS and overall survival, especially among patients treated with atezolizumab. Patients with >median QoL score at baseline recorded improved PFS when treated with atezolizumab (HR 0.25), while patients with ≤median QoL score did not (HR 1.02).

Conclusions: Adding atezolizumab to the study-chemotherapy in mTNBC improves both PFS and patient-reported quality of life, emotional well-being and symptom control. These findings support continued development of this combination regimen and suggest that baseline quality of life may serve as a useful predictor of immunotherapy benefit.

Trial registration: NCT03164993, May 24^th 2017; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT03164993.

Keywords: Anthracyclines; Immunotherapy; Metastatic; Patient reported outcomes; Predictive marker; Triple-negative breast cancer.

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT03164993