Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab-based therapy versus dual HER2 blockade in early breast cancer: comparable surgical complication rates in a real-world cohort
Kerstin Wimmer, Katharina Kantner, Ruth Exner, Rupert Bartsch, Zsuzsanna Bago-Horvath, Stefan Konrad, Florian Fitzal, Maximilian Marhold · 2026
Read Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab-based therapy versus dual HER2 blockade in early breast cancer: comparable surgical complication rates in a real-world cohort by Kerstin Wimmer, Katharina Kantner, Ruth Exner, Rupert Bartsch, Zsuzsanna Bago-Horvath, Stefan Konrad, Florian Fitzal, Maximilian Marhold (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13581936.txt.
Description
Kerstin Wimmer and co-authors compare surgical fallout from two modern pre-surgery drug strategies in early breast cancer. Their 2026 study reviews ninety-nine patients at one center: triple-negative cases treated with an immunotherapy-based regimen, and HER2-positive cases given dual antibody blockade with chemotherapy. Both shrink tumors well; whether one leaves surgeons a messier field was unknown.
About a quarter of all patients had some complication within thirty days, and the rate barely differed between groups. Nearly all problems were minor, with fluid collections the most common. Major complication rates and overall severity scores matched as well. Response rates differed, with the triple-negative group clearing tumors more often, but that did not translate into surgical harm. The authors offer the comparison as real-world reassurance: pre-surgery potency, at least here, did not come at a surgical price.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Kerstin Wimmer, Katharina Kantner, Ruth Exner, Rupert Bartsch, Zsuzsanna Bago-Horvath, Stefan Konrad, Florian Fitzal, Maximilian Marhold |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 34 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |