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TIL-Driven De-escalated Chemotherapy in Stage I-II TNBC

DespaTIL Study: A Phase II Trial of De-escalated Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Guided by Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) and Radiologic Response

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07074106
Acronym
DespaTIL
Enrollment
40
Registered
2025-07-20
Start date
2025-10-31
Completion date
2028-07-01
Last updated
2026-04-01

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

Conditions

Breast Cancer

Keywords

TILs, Breast cancer, radiological response, Descalonation of neoadjuvant treatment

Brief summary

This is a phase II clinical study testing a more personalized and lighter chemotherapy approach for women with stage I or II triple-negative breast cancer. The treatment is adjusted based on signs from the immune system (called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILs) and imaging results during treatment. Patients with stage I triple-negative breast cancer (regardless of TIL levels) and those with stage II disease and high TILs (50% or more) will receive a combination of two chemotherapy drugs (carboplatin and a taxane) for four cycles. If imaging shows the tumor has completely disappeared after this treatment, the patient will go straight to surgery. If the tumor is still visible, the treatment will be strengthened with additional chemotherapy drugs (anthracycline and cyclophosphamide), with or without a medicine called pembrolizumab, which helps the immune system fight cancer. The main goal of the study is to see how many patients have a complete disappearance of the cancer after treatment. Other goals include understanding how imaging results relate to what is found during surgery and tracking how long patients live without the cancer coming back.

Detailed description

This is a phase II, single-arm clinical trial investigating a de-escalated neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen for stage I and II triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), guided by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and radiologic response. Patients with stage I TNBC (regardless of TIL levels) and stage II TNBC with TILs ≥ 50% will receive four cycles of carboplatin and a taxane. Those who achieve a complete radiologic response will proceed to surgery, while patients without a complete radiologic response will be escalated to a regimen including anthracycline and cyclophosphamide, with or without pembrolizumab. The primary objective is to evaluate the pathological complete response rate. Secondary outcomes include the correlation between radiologic and pathologic response, event-free survival, and overall survival.

Interventions

DRUGCarboplatin and a Taxane

All patients will receive Carboplatin and a Taxane for 4 cycles. * Patients who achieve a complete radiological response will proceed directly to surgery. * Patients without a complete radiological response will receive Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide, with or without Pembrolizumab, for an additional 4 cycles before surgery.

Sponsors

D'Or Institute for Research and Education
Lead SponsorOTHER
Grupo Brasileiro de Estudos do Câncer de Mama (GBECAM)
CollaboratorUNKNOWN

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Histologically confirmed primary invasive breast carcinoma. * One of the following conditions: * Clinical stage T1c N0 M0 with any level of TILs; or * Clinical stage T2 N0 M0 with TILs ≥ 50%. * Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression \< 10%. * HER2-negative or non-amplified, according to current ASCO-CAP criteria. * No evidence of distant metastasis based on imaging performed prior to study entry (chest/abdomen/pelvis CT scan or FDG PET-CT). * Age ≥ 18 years. * ECOG performance status of 0 to 2. * Adequate organ function

Exclusion criteria

* The subject has an uncontrolled severe concomitant condition, including but not limited to: active or ongoing infection, unstable angina, uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia, congestive heart failure (NYHA Class III or IV), active ischemic heart disease, or chronic liver or kidney disease. * Pregnant or breastfeeding participants. * History of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis or other hypersensitivity reactions to platinum-based agents or taxanes.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Pathological complete response rate after 4 cycles of Carboplatin plus Paclitaxel.3 mo

Countries

Brazil

Contacts

CONTACTIntituto D'Or de Pesquisa e Ensino São Paulo
oncologia.projetos@idor.orgpesquisaclinica@idor.org

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 2, 2026