A Study of AC Followed by a Combination of Paclitaxel Plus Trastuzumab or Lapatinib or Both Given Before Surgery to Patients With Operable HER2 Positive Invasive Breast Cancer - Full Text View

Sponsor:	National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP)
Collaborator:	GlaxoSmithKline
Information provided by:	National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00486668

Purpose

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether breast cancer tumors respond (as measured by pathologic complete response: the absence of microscopic evidence of invasive tumor cells in the breast) to combined chemotherapy of AC(doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide) followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab or lapatinib or both given before surgery to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. Trastuzumab will also be given to all patients after surgery. The study will also evaluate the toxic effects of the chemotherapy combination, including effects on the heart, and will determine survival and progression-free survival 5 years after treatment. Also, the study will look at whether there are gene expression profiles in the tumor tissue that can predict pathologic complete response.

Condition	Intervention	Phase
Invasive Breast Cancer	Drug: doxorubicin Drug: cyclophosphamide Drug: paclitaxel Drug: trastuzumab Drug: lapatinib	Phase III

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Treatment, Randomized, Open Label, Active Control, Parallel Assignment, Safety/Efficacy Study
Official Title:	A Randomized Phase III Trial of Neoadjuvant Therapy for Patients With Palpable and Operable HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Comparing the Combination of Trastuzumab Plus Lapatinib to Trastuzumab and to Lapatinib Administered With Weekly Paclitaxel Following AC Accompanied by Correlative Science Studies to Identify Predictors of Pathologic Complete Response

Resource links provided by NLM:

Genetics Home Reference related topics: breast cancer

MedlinePlus related topics: Breast Cancer Cancer Surgery

Drug Information available for: Cyclophosphamide Doxorubicin Doxorubicin hydrochloride Paclitaxel Trastuzumab Lapatinib Lapatinib Ditosylate

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP):

Primary Outcome Measures:

Determination of pathologic complete response (pCR), defined by the absence of microscopic evidence of invasive tumor cells in the post chemotherapy surgical breast specimen. [ Time Frame: surgery following chemotherapy ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:

The determination of pCR in the surgical breast and lymph node specimens following chemotherapy. [ Time Frame: surgery following chemotherapy ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Clinical tumor measurement as assessed by physical exam of the breast and lymph nodes [ Time Frame: baseline (prior to starting protocol therapy), at the completion of AC (before starting paclitaxel and trastuzumab and/or lapatinib), and at the conclusion of the sequential regimens (prior to surgery). ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Determination of cardiac toxicity as measured by the incidence of cardiac events defined as definite or probable cardiac death [ Time Frame: two year cumulative incidence ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
Determination of non-cardiac toxicities as measured by frequencies of adverse events categorized using CTCAE v3.0. [ Time Frame: through 5 years after entry ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
Overall survival as measured by time from randomization until death from any cause. [ Time Frame: through 5 years after entry ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Recurrence-free interval as measured by occurrence of inoperable progressive disease, or from time of surgery to occurrence of local, regional, or distant recurrence in patients with operable disease. [ Time Frame: through 5 years after entry ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
In tumor tissue, a comparison of array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) data with gene expression profile data to examine coordinated overexpression of amplified genes, especially in HER2 and cMYC loci. [ Time Frame: Tissue sample collected at surgery following chemotherapy ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Estimated Enrollment:	522
Study Start Date:	July 2007
Estimated Study Completion Date:	July 2014
Estimated Primary Completion Date:	July 2010 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Arms	Assigned Interventions
Group 1: Active Comparator AC followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab	Drug: doxorubicin 60 mg/m2 IV every 21 days for cycles 1-4 Drug: cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 IV every 21 days for cycles 1-4 Drug: paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 IV on days 1, 8, and 15 every 28 days for cycles 5-8 Drug: trastuzumab First dose: 4 mg/kg IV, subsequent doses: 2 mg/kg IV weekly beginning on day 1 of the first paclitaxel cycle until 1-7 days before surgery
Group 2: Experimental AC followed by paclitaxel plus lapatinib	Drug: doxorubicin 60 mg/m2 IV every 21 days for cycles 1-4 Drug: cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 IV every 21 days for cycles 1-4 Drug: paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 IV on days 1, 8, and 15 every 28 days for cycles 5-8 Drug: lapatinib Group 2: 1250 mg PO daily beginning on day 1 of the first paclitaxel cycle until 1 day before surgery. Group 3: 750 mg PO daily beginning on day 1 of the first paclitaxel cycle until 1 day before surgery.
Group 3: Experimental AC followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab plus lapatinib	Drug: doxorubicin 60 mg/m2 IV every 21 days for cycles 1-4 Drug: cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 IV every 21 days for cycles 1-4 Drug: paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 IV on days 1, 8, and 15 every 28 days for cycles 5-8 Drug: trastuzumab First dose: 4 mg/kg IV, subsequent doses: 2 mg/kg IV weekly beginning on day 1 of the first paclitaxel cycle until 1-7 days before surgery Drug: lapatinib Group 2: 1250 mg PO daily beginning on day 1 of the first paclitaxel cycle until 1 day before surgery. Group 3: 750 mg PO daily beginning on day 1 of the first paclitaxel cycle until 1 day before surgery.

Detailed Description:

Women with breast cancers that overexpress HER2 are at greater risk for disease progression and death than women whose tumors do not overexpress HER2. Trastuzumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domain of the HER2 protein blocks downstream signaling of HER2 and substantially improves the efficacy of chemotherapy in women with metastatic and early-stage HER2-positive breast cancers. Because resistance to trastuzumab eventually results in progressive disease in the metastatic setting and contributes to recurrence following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy, it is important to develop agents other than trastuzumab that target HER2 signaling through different mechanisms of action. Lapatinib is an oral, small molecule, dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of HER2 and EGFR. Lapatinib has shown a lack of cross-resistance with trastuzumab in preclinical studies and activity in women with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer that has progressed during trastuzumab treatment. Trastuzumab blocks the downstream signaling of HER2 by binding to the extracellular domain of the receptor. Lapatinib binds to the intracellular domains of HER2 and EGFR and prevents activation of downstream signaling pathways. Because of this different mechanism of action, lapatinib may be effective in trastuzumab-resistant disease. The study will also provide important safety information on trastuzumab and lapatinib combinations immediately following anthracycline exposure, and also provide an initial direct comparison of cardiac effects of trastuzumab and lapatinib when incorporated into a standard sequential AC followed by weekly paclitaxel (neo)adjuvant regimen.

Availability of a second agent that can interrupt HER2-signaling pathways through completely different mechanisms than those of trastuzumab offers the potential for further improvement in the management of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer in both the adjuvant and metastatic setting. Co-administration of both trastuzumab and lapatinib with chemotherapy may be important in improving outcomes in subsets of HER2-positive breast cancers. However, use of two inhibitors of the HER2 pathway will increase costs and may increase toxicity, so it will be important to identify the subsets of patients who would benefit from the dual therapy. Inhibition of HER2 with a single agent clearly is sufficient for many patients as evidenced by the results of the trastuzumab trials. Therefore, co-administration to unselected populations of women with HER2-positive breast cancers would not represent an optimal approach. Given the activity of lapatinib, it is likely that it will also be sufficiently active in inhibiting HER2-pathway activation in some patients to allow for its use as the sole inhibitor of the HER2 pathway. Different populations may also derive greater benefit from one of the HER2-blocking agents relative to the other. Identification of potential predictive factors for pathologic complete response to the combination or to either agent administered alone in neoadjuvant trials would provide important information for adjuvant trials designed to definitively address these important issues.

This study will compare 3 combined chemotherapy regimens: AC followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab and lapatinib, AC followed by paclitaxel plus lapatinib, and AC followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab given before surgery to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years and older
Genders Eligible for Study:	Female
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

Inclusion criteria:

Female
18 years or older
ECOG performance status of 0 or 1
Primary breast tumor palpable and measures greater than or equal to 2.0 cm by physical exam
Diagnosis of invasive adenocarcinoma made by core needle biopsy
Breast cancer determined to be HER2-positive
LVEF assessment by MUGA scan or ECG within 3 months prior to randomization
Blood counts must meet the following criteria:
- ANC greater than or equal to 1200/mm3
- Platelet count greater than or equal to 100,000/mm3
- Hemoglobin greater than or equal to 10 g/dL
Serum creatinine less than or equal to ULN for the lab
Adequate hepatic function by these criteria:
- Total bilirubin less than or equal to the ULN for the lab unless the patient has a bilirubin elevation greater than ULN to 1.5 x ULN resulting from Gilbert's disease or similar syndrome due to slow conjugation of bilirubin; and
- Alkaline phosphatase less than or equal to 2.5 x ULN; and
- AST less than or equal to 1.5 x ULN for the lab.
If skeletal pain present or alkaline phosphatase greater than ULN (but less than or equal to 2.5 x ULN), bone scan or PET scan must not demonstrate metastatic disease
If AST or alkaline phosphatase greater than ULN , liver imaging (CT, MRI or PET scan) must not demonstrate definitive metastatic disease and the requirements in criterion for hepatic function must be met
Able to swallow oral medications

Exclusion criteria:

FNA alone to diagnose the primary tumor
Excisional biopsy or lumpectomy was performed prior to randomization
Surgical axillary staging procedure prior to randomization. Exceptions: 1) FNA or core biopsy of an axillary node for any patient, and 2) although not recommended, a pre-neoadjuvant therapy SN biopsy for patients with clinically negative axillary nodes.
Tumors clinically staged as T4
Ipsilateral cN2b or cN3 disease (Patients with cN1 or cN2a disease are eligible)
Definitive clinical or radiologic evidence of metastatic disease
Synchronous bilateral invasive breast cancer
Requirement for chronic use of any of the medications or substances specified in the protocol
Treatment including RT, chemotherapy, and/or targeted therapy for the currently diagnosed breast cancer prior to randomization
Any sex hormonal therapy, e.g., birth control pills, ovarian hormone replacement therapy, etc. (These patients are eligible if therapy is discontinued prior to randomization)
Continued therapy with any hormonal agent such as raloxifene, tamoxifen, or other SERM. (Patients are eligible only if these medications are discontinued prior to randomization)
Prior history of breast cancer, including DCIS (Patients with a history of LCIS are eligible)
Prior therapy with anthracyclines, taxanes, trastuzumab, or lapatinib for any malignancy
Other malignancies unless the patient is considered to be disease-free for 5 or more years prior to randomization and is deemed by her physician to be at low risk for recurrence. Patients with the following cancers are eligible if diagnosed and treated within the past 5 years: carcinoma in situ of the cervix, carcinoma in situ of the colon, melanoma in situ, and basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.
Cardiac disease that would preclude the use of the drugs included in the B-41 treatment regimens. This includes but is not confined to:
- Active cardiac disease:
  - angina pectoris requiring the use of anti-anginal medication;
  - ventricular arrhythmias except for benign premature ventricular contractions controlled by medication;
  - conduction abnormality requiring a pacemaker;
  - supraventricular and nodal arrhythmias requiring a pacemaker or not controlled with medication; and
  - clinically significant valvular disease.
- History of cardiac disease:
  - myocardial infarction;
  - congestive heart failure; or
  - cardiomyopathy.
Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as blood pressure greater than 150/90 mm/Hg on antihypertensive therapy
History of or current symptomatic interstitial pneumonitis or pulmonary fibrosis or definitive evidence of interstitial pneumonitis or pulmonary fibrosis described on CT or chest x-ray in asymptomatic patients
Sensory/motor neuropathy greater than or equal to grade 2, as defined by the NCI's CTCAE v3.0
Malabsorption syndrome, ulcerative colitis, resection of the stomach or small bowel, or other disease significantly affecting gastrointestinal function
Other non-malignant systemic disease that would preclude treatment with any of the treatment regimens or would prevent required follow-up
Conditions that would prohibit administration of corticosteroids
Administration of any investigational agents within 30 days before randomization
Pregnancy or lactation

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00486668

Contacts

Contact: Diana Gosik, RN, BS

412-330-4692

diana.gosik@nsabp.org

Show 94 Study Locations

Sponsors and Collaborators

National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP)

GlaxoSmithKline

Investigators

Principal Investigator:

Norman Wolmark, MD

NSABP Foundation, Inc.

More Information

No publications provided

Responsible Party:	NSABP Foundation, Inc. ( Norman Wolmark, MD )
Study ID Numbers:	NSABP B-41
Study First Received:	June 13, 2007
Last Updated:	August 5, 2009
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00486668 History of Changes
Health Authority:	United States: Food and Drug Administration; Canada: Health Canada

Keywords provided by National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP):

HER2 positive breast cancer
invasive breast cancer
lapatinib
neoadjuvant
NSABP

paclitaxel
trastuzumab
doxorubicin
cyclophosphamide

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Immunologic Factors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Antineoplastic Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Cyclophosphamide
Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
Protein Kinase Inhibitors
Neoplasms by Site
Therapeutic Uses
Trastuzumab
Alkylating Agents
Breast Diseases
Skin Diseases
Mitosis Modulators

Breast Neoplasms
Enzyme Inhibitors
Lapatinib
Antimitotic Agents
Immunosuppressive Agents
Doxorubicin
Pharmacologic Actions
Neoplasms
Paclitaxel
Tubulin Modulators
Myeloablative Agonists
Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating
Antirheumatic Agents
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on February 08, 2010