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Neratinib and Paclitaxel With or Without Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab Before Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

A Phase 1b Study of Neratinib, Pertuzumab, and Trastuzumab With Taxol (3HT) in Metastatic and Locally Advanced Breast Cancer, and Phase II Study of 3HT Followed by AC in HER2 + Primary IBC, and Neratinib With Taxol (NT) Followed by AC in HR+ /HER2- Primary IBC

Status
Terminated
Phases
Phase 1Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03101748
Enrollment
34
Registered
2017-04-05
Start date
2018-02-19
Completion date
2025-05-13
Last updated
2026-02-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Breast Inflammatory Carcinoma, Locally Advanced Breast Carcinoma, Metastatic Breast Carcinoma, Stage IIIA Breast Cancer AJCC v7, Stage IIIB Breast Cancer AJCC v7, Stage III Breast Cancer AJCC v7, Stage IIIC Breast Cancer AJCC v7, Stage IV Breast Cancer AJCC v6 and v7

Brief summary

This phase I/II trial studies the side effect and best dose of neratinib and to see how well it works with paclitaxel and with or without pertuzumab and trastuzumab before combination chemotherapy in treating patients with breast cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Neratinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Immunotherapy with pertuzumab and trastuzumab, may induce changes in body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving neratinib, pertuzumab, trastuzumab, paclitaxel and combination chemotherapy may work better in treating patients with breast cancer.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of neratinib in combination with paclitaxel, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab in HER2-positive (HER2+) metastatic or locally advanced (stage III) breast cancer within 2 cycles. (Cohort 1: Phase Ib) II. To determine the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of neratinib in combination with paclitaxel, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab followed by doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) in HER2+ metastatic or locally advanced (stage III) inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) patients. (Cohort 1: Phase II) III. To determine the pCR rate of neratinib in combination with paclitaxel followed by AC in HER2-negative/hormone receptor (HR)-positive (HER2-/HR+) metastatic or locally advanced (stage III) IBC patients. (Cohort 2) SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To estimate 2 years progression free survival (PFS) rate of HER2+ metastatic or locally advanced (stage III) IBC patients, and HER2-/HR+ IBC patients treated with neratinib plus anthracycline and taxane based chemotherapy. (Cohort I Phase II and Cohort II) II. To determine toxicity and safety of the combination therapy. EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the adaptive target and downstream changes in pan-HER family members induced by one-week window period of neratinib based on tissue and blood based biomarkers. II. To determine the correlation between positive/negative changes in EGFR, HER2 and HER4 and the occurrence of pCR. III. To determine the rate of HER2 mutation in HER2+ IBC and HER2-/HR+ IBC. IV. To determine the association between HER2 mutation and pCR achieved by study combination therapy. V. To determine the correlation between tumor tissue based pharmacodynamic marker changes in association with circulating tumor cells (CTC) and circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA). OUTLINE: This is a phase I, dose-escalation study of neratinib followed by a phase II study. Patients are assigned to 1 of 3 groups. GROUP A (COHORT 1 PHASE IB): Patients receive neratinib orally (PO) once daily (QD) on days 1-21, paclitaxel intravenously (IV) over 1-3 hours on days 1, 8, and 15, pertuzumab IV over 1 hour on day 1, and trastuzumab IV over 1-2 hours on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients without progression or excessive toxicity with metastatic disease may receive up to 4 additional courses and with locally advanced disease may receive up to 2 additional courses. GROUP B (COHORT 1 PHASE II): Patients receive neratinib, paclitaxel, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab as in Group A. Patients then receive doxorubicin IV and cyclophosphamide IV over 90 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients then undergo standard of care surgery. GROUP C (COHORT 2): Patients receive neratinib PO QD on days 1-21, paclitaxel IV over 1-3 hours on days 1, 8, and 15. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients then undergo surgery/ Patients then receive doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide as in Group B. Patients then undergo standard of care surgery. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 1 month.

Interventions

DRUGCyclophosphamide

Given IV

DRUGDoxorubicin

Given IV

OTHERLaboratory Biomarker Analysis

Correlative studies

DRUGNeratinib

Given PO

DRUGPaclitaxel

Given IV

BIOLOGICALPertuzumab

Given IV

BIOLOGICALTrastuzumab

Given IV

Sponsors

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Histological confirmation of breast cancer * Able to provide written informed consent for the trial * Performance status of =\< 1 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance scale * Able to swallow oral medication * Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment by 2-dimensional (D) echocardiogram or multi-gated acquisition (MUGA) scan performed within 90 days prior to registration must be \>= 50% * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500 /uL * Platelets \>= 100,000 /uL * Hemoglobin \>= 9 g/dL * Creatinine clearance \>= 50 ml/min * Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN), for patients with congenital unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia (Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 1 and 2, Gilbert syndrome) that transient hyperbilirubinemia can occur due to physiological condition, as long as there is clear documentation of diagnosis, allowed to be enrolled if direct (conjugated) bilirubin is =\< 1.5 X ULN * Alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase =\< 2.5 X ULN except in patients with aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation that is declared to be caused due to liver metastasis, they are allowed to be enrolled as long as \< 5 x ULN * Subject of childbearing potential should be willing to use effective methods of birth control or be surgically sterile, or abstain from heterosexual activity for the course of the study and through at least 4 months after the last dose of study drug; subject of childbearing potential is defined as has not been surgically sterilized or free from menses for \> 1 year; effective methods of birth control include: 1) use of hormonal birth control methods: pills, shots/injections, implants (placed under the skin by a health care provider), or patches (placed on the skin); 2) intrauterine devices (IUDs); 3) using 2 barrier methods (each partner must use 1 barrier method) with a spermicide; males must use the male condom (latex or other synthetic material) with spermicide; females must choose either a diaphragm with spermicide, or cervical cap with spermicide, or a sponge (spermicide is already in the contraceptive sponge); female patients of childbearing potential must have a negative urine pregnancy test no more than 7 days prior to starting study drug; 4) for male participant, they must agree and commit to use a barrier method of contraception while on treatment and for 3 months after the last dose of investigational product * Cohort 1: Phase 1b: patient must have HER2 + (regardless of hormonal receptor status) metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer (IBC or Non-IBC); HER2 positive status is defined as strongly positive (3+) staining score by immunohistochemistry (IHC), or gene amplification using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), if performed; if IHC is equivocal (2+), please refer to current American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines algorithm for evaluation of HER2; HER2 negative status, which is determined by assays using IHC require negative (0 or 1+) staining score; if IHC is equivocal (2+) staining score, please refer to current ASCO guidelines algorithm for evaluation of HER2; IBC is determined by using international consensus criteria: onset: rapid onset of breast erythema, edema and/or peau d'orange, and/or warm breast, with/without an underlying breast mass; duration: history of such findings no more than 6 months; extent erythema occupying at least 1/3 of whole breast; pathology: pathologic confirmation of invasive carcinoma * Cohort 1: Phase II: patient must have HER2+ (regardless of hormonal receptor status) stage III IBC or Stage IV IBC if the metastatic sites are amenable for local therapy (i.e. radiation and/ or surgery) and will have breast surgery * Cohort 2: Patient must have HER2-/HR+ stage III IBC or Stage IV IBC if the metastatic sites are amenable for local therapy (i.e. radiation and/ or surgery) and will have breast surgery

Exclusion criteria

* Excisional biopsy or lumpectomy for the current breast cancer * Any other previous malignancies (except for cervical in situ cancers treated only by local excision, and basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin) within 5 years * Any other previous antitumor therapies for the current cancer event; this exclusion does not apply to phase Ib part of cohort 1 * Breast-feeding at screening or planning to become pregnant during the course of therapy * History of active or known autoimmune disease that can cause diarrhea like (but not limited to) Addison's disease, celiac disease/gluten intolerance/irritable bowel syndrome, scleroderma * Active infection or chronic infection requiring chronic suppressive antibiotics * Known hepatitis B or hepatitis C with abnormal liver function tests * Malabsorption syndrome, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, resection of the stomach or small bowel, or other disease or condition significantly affecting gastrointestinal function * Persistent \>= grade 2 diarrhea regardless of etiology * Sensory or motor neuropathy \>= grade 2 * Conditions that would prohibit intermittent administration of corticosteroids for paclitaxel premedication; however, corticosteroid can be dropped after confirming of no asthma like reaction to paclitaxel after 3 doses * Uncontrolled hypertension defined as a systolic blood pressure (BP) \> 150 mmHg or diastolic BP \> 90 mmHg, with or without anti-hypertensive medications * Cardiac disease (history of and/or active disease) that would preclude the use of any of the drugs included in the treatment regimen; this includes but is not confined to: * Active cardiac diseases including: * Symptomatic angina pectoris within the past 180 days that required the initiation of or increase in anti-anginal medication or other intervention * Ventricular arrhythmias except for benign premature ventricular contractions * Supraventricular and nodal arrhythmias requiring a pacemaker or not controlled with medication * Conduction abnormality requiring a pacemaker * Valvular disease with documented compromise in cardiac function * Symptomatic pericarditis * History of cardiac disease: * Myocardial infarction documented by elevated cardiac enzymes or persistent regional wall abnormalities on assessment of left ventricular (LV) function * History of documented congestive heart failure (CHF) * Documented cardiomyopathy * If you are pregnant, you will not be enrolled on this study

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pathologic Complete Response (pCR) in HER2-Negative / HR-Positive IBC in Cohort IIAt the time of surgery (mastectomy), following completion of neoadjuvant therapy; approximately 18-24 weeks from treatment initiation.Pathologic complete response (pCR) was defined as no residual invasive cancer in the breast and sampled lymph nodes at surgery (ypT0/Tis, ypN0). The primary analysis was conducted using the intent-to-treat (ITT) population; participants who did not undergo surgery were counted as non-pCR.
Dose-Limiting Toxicities (DLTs) During Dose EscalationFrom treatment initiation through completion of 2 cycles (approximately 6 weeks)Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) observed during the first two treatment cycles (approximately 6 weeks) among participants receiving escalating doses of neratinib in combination therapy in Cohort I Phase Ib. Participants With ≥1 DLT.
Pathologic Complete Response (pCR) in HER2+ Metastatic or Locally Advanced IBC in Cohort I Phase IIAt surgery following completion of neoadjuvant therapy (approximately 18-24 weeks from treatment initiation).Pathologic complete response (pCR) was defined as no residual invasive cancer in the breast and sampled lymph nodes at surgery (ypT0/Tis, ypN0). The primary analysis was conducted using the intent-to-treat (ITT) population; participants who did not undergo surgery were counted as non-pCR.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Event-Free Survival (EFS) Rate at 2 YearsFrom treatment initiation to 2 years after start of therapy.Event-free survival (EFS) was defined as the time from treatment initiation to the first occurrence of disease progression, recurrence, or death from any cause. EFS rates at 2 years were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method; participants without an event were censored at last disease assessment.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORRachel Layman, MD

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Participant flow

Recruitment details

Feb 2018\ Oct 2021. All recruitment was done at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Pre-assignment details

43 patients were accrued and assessed for eligibility and 34 patients were assigned to the cohort.

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
2 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
32 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
13 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
26 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
2 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
34 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
EG002
affected / at risk
EG003
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
1 / 20 / 22 / 145 / 16
other
Total, other adverse events
2 / 22 / 214 / 1416 / 16
serious
Total, serious adverse events
1 / 21 / 26 / 143 / 16

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 6, 2026