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De-escalation Therapy in Stage I ER-Positive Breast Cancer: A Non-Inferiority Trial

A Prospective, Randomized, Open-label, Non-inferiority, Phase III Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of 2 to 3 Years of Adjuvant Endocrine De-escalation Therapy for ER-positive/HER2-negative Stage I Breast Cancer

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07153757
Acronym
DESCENT
Enrollment
2934
Registered
2025-09-04
Start date
2025-09-01
Completion date
2033-09-01
Last updated
2025-09-04

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

Conditions

Breast Cancer Early Stage Breast Cancer (Stage 1-3)

Brief summary

This study is a prospective, randomized, open-label, non-inferiority Phase III clinical trial, planning to enroll 2,934 patients, with a 1:1 allocation to either the conventional endocrine therapy group or the de-escalation therapy group. The aim is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 2-3 years of de-escalated endocrine therapy in patients with T1N0M0 potentially low-risk breast cancer, respectively.

Interventions

This study employs a 2-3 year de-escalated endocrine therapy regimen in the experimental group, which distinguishes it from other escalation therapy studies.

Sponsors

Fudan University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Arm#1: 5 years of standard endocrine therapy; Arm#2: 2-3 years of de-escalated endocrine therapy

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Females aged 18 years or older; * Postoperative pathological stage I early breast cancer: histologically confirmed invasive carcinoma with a maximum diameter ≤2 cm and node-negative (N0); * Immunohistochemistry (IHC) shows ER-positive (ER ≥50%), HER2 IHC score of 0, 1+, or 2+ with no amplification confirmed by FISH, and Ki-67 ≤20%; * Presence of at least one of the following potential low-risk factors: 1)Tumor size ≤1 cm, 2)21-gene recurrence score \<11, 3)Fudan digital pathological subtype classified as SNF1, 4)Age ≥65 years; * ECOG performance status of 0 or 1; * Patients with bilateral synchronous invasive lesions are eligible if both lesions are ER-positive, HER2-negative, and meet the tumor size criteria; * Normal major organ function, meeting the following criteria: 1. Hematological: HB ≥90 g/L (no transfusion within 14 days), ANC ≥1.5×10⁹/L, PLT ≥100×10⁹/L; 2. Biochemical: TBIL ≤1.5×ULN, ALT and AST ≤3×ULN, serum Cr ≤1×ULN, and creatinine clearance \>50 mL/min (Cockcroft-Gault formula); * Participants voluntarily enroll, sign informed consent, demonstrate good compliance, and cooperate with follow-up.

Exclusion criteria

* Primary tumor size \>2 cm in maximum diameter and/or axillary lymph node positivity; * Prior neoadjuvant therapy, any systemic therapy, or local therapy (except surgery), including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiotherapy, or endocrine therapy; * Prior adjuvant chemotherapy; * Use of CDK4/6 inhibitors in the adjuvant setting; * History of other malignancies (except cured basal cell carcinoma or cervical carcinoma in situ); * Metastasis at any site; * Pregnancy, lactation, or women of childbearing potential unable to use effective contraception; * Concurrent participation in other clinical trials; * Severe cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, or renal dysfunction; LVEF \<50% (by echocardiography); severe cardio-cerebrovascular diseases within 6 months (e.g., unstable angina, chronic heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension \>150/90 mmHg, myocardial infarction, or stroke); poorly controlled diabetes; severe hypertension; * Severe or uncontrolled infections; * History of drug abuse or psychiatric disorders; * Patients deemed unsuitable for the study by the investigator.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
5-year disease-free survival in the per-protocol population5 yearThe proportion of patients in a clinical trial who remained free of disease recurrence, secondary primary cancers, and death from the disease for five years following treatment initiation, calculated specifically among those who completed the study intervention as predefined in the trial protocol(i.e., without major deviations such as incomplete treatment, use of prohibited therapies, or significant protocol violations).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
5-year disease-free survival in the Full Analysis Set5 yearThe proportion of patients in a clinical trial who remained free of disease recurrence, secondary primary cancers, and death from the disease for five years after randomization or initiation of treatment, analyzed within the Full Analysis Set (FAS) population-which includes all subjects randomized (or initially assigned to a treatment group) following the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle, regardless of whether they fully received, discontinued, or deviated from the protocol.
5-year invasive breast cancer-free survival in the per-protocol population5 yearThe proportion of participants in a clinical trial who, after receiving the full intended course of treatment without major protocol deviations, remained free of invasive ipsilateral or contralateral breast cancer recurrence, distant metastatic invasive breast cancer, and death from any cause for a period of five years from the start of treatment or randomization.
Overall survival in the per-protocol population5 yearThe length of time from randomization or initiation of treatment until death from any cause, measured specifically among participants who completed the study intervention without major protocol deviations, such as insufficient treatment exposure, use of prohibited therapies, or significant violations of inclusion/exclusion criteria.
Quality of Life score in the per-protocol population5 yearThe quality of life of patients was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire before, during, and after treatment.
safety5 yearthe evaluation of the adverse effects and potential risks of an investigational medical product (e.g., drug, device, or intervention) on participants throughout the study.

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026