Karen Bhatt

Karen Bhatt has investigated immunotherapy combinations for triple-negative breast cancer, including the landmark KEYNOTE-522 regimen of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab for early-stage TNBC. Her research has characterized the significant improvement in pathological complete response rates and event-free survival with pembrolizumab addition regardless of PD-L1 status, raising questions about optimal patient selection for adjuvant pembrolizumab. She has examined the combination of PARP inhibitors with checkpoint immunotherapy in TNBC, exploring whether the immunogenic cell death and increased neoantigen load from PARP inhibition synergizes with anti-PD-1 therapy in BRCA-mutated and BRCAness-high TNBC. Her translational research on immune microenvironment characteristics in TNBC including TIL levels and type I interferon signatures as biomarkers of response to IO combinations has contributed to patient selection strategies.