Exemestane in Treating Patients With Complex Atypical Hyperplasia of the Endometrium/Endometrial Intraepithelial Neoplasia or Low Grade Endometrial Cancer

August 19, 2025 updated by: National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Pilot Study of Daily Exemestane in Women With Complex Atypical Hyperplasia of the Endometrium/Endometrial Intraepithelial Neoplasia or Low Grade Endometrial Cancer

This pilot phase IIa trial studies how well exemestane works in treating patients with complex atypical hyperplasia of the endometrium/endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia or low grade endometrial cancer. Exemestane may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine if there is a decrease in proliferation index, measured by Ki-67 expression, in complex atypical hyperplasia (CAH)/endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN) or low grade (grade 1 and grade 2) endometrial cancer cells from baseline to post-exemestane treatment.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Circulating serum estradiol and progesterone. II. Pathological response (regression of CAH/EIN or low grade [grade 1 and grade 2] endometrial carcinoma).

III. Tissue biomarkers. IV. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mutational analysis through next generation sequencing and methylation status of endometrial tumor.

V. Protein markers via tampon recovery before and after treatment. VI. DNA markers via tampon recovery. VII. Safety and adverse effects of treatment. VIII. Comparison of Ki-67 expression changes between study subjects and a historical cohort.

IX. Evaluation of the levels of exemestane in the plasma samples pre and post treatment.

OUTLINE:

Patients receive exemestane orally (PO) once daily (QD) over 21-42 days in the absence of disease progression or unaccepted toxicity. Patients undergo standard of care surgery between days 22-43.

After completion of study treatment, patients with unresolved adverse events on day of surgery are followed up periodically.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35233
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Center
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
        • University of Minnesota/Masonic Cancer Center
    • Wisconsin
      • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53792
        • University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center - University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

45 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Females with a histologically proven CAH/ EIN or low grade (grade 1 or grade 2) endometrial carcinoma (EC) for which surgery is planned; the pathologic report from the referring facility will be used to determine pathologic eligibility; this report must be within 45 days of their baseline (pre-surgical) clinic visit
  • No prior treatment for CAH/EIN/EC

  • Post-menopausal confirmed with one the following criteria:

    • >= 60 years of age
    • Age 56 to 59 years of age with >= 2 years of amenorrhea
    • Age 56 to 59 years of age with < 2 years of amenorrhea and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) within institutional post-menopausal range.
    • Age 45 to 55 years of age with FSH within institutional post-menopausal range. The Ki-67 expression changes based on menopausal status and specifically varies based on what phase of the menstrual cycle the sample is collected. Therefore, in order to eliminate this source of variability, only postmenopausal women will be included in this trial. In addition, exemestane is currently approved for use in post-menopausal women only.
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =< 1
  • Hemoglobin >= 9 g/dL
  • Serum creatinine =< 1.5 x upper limit of normal or calculated creatinine clearance >= 60 mL/min using Cockcroft-Gault equation for patients with creatinine levels > 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • Total bilirubin =< 1.5 x ULN OR direct bilirubin =< 1 x ULN
  • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =< 2.5 x ULN
  • White blood cell (WBC) >= 3000/mcl
  • Platelets >= 100,000/mcl
  • Able and willing to take oral medications
  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
  • Body mass index (BMI) > 20

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants who had curatively treated invasive malignancies for which all treatments ended within 1 year prior to the study (with the exception of basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin)
  • Not a surgical candidate or surgery is not scheduled within 43 days from starting the study drug
  • Receiving any other investigational agents
  • Any gastrointestinal condition causing malabsorption or obstruction (e.g. celiac sprue, gastric bypass surgery, strictures, adhesions, history of small bowel resection, blind loop syndrome)
  • Has been on any hormonal treatment (including progestin-containing intrauterine device [IUD]) for CAH/EIN or low grade (grade 1 or grade 2) endometrial carcinoma in last 3 months
  • Use hormone replacement therapy (including systemic or topical estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone based medication) or/and phytoestrogen supplements (i.e. black cohosh) or has been on progestin (including progestin containing IUD), tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor within the prior 3 months
  • Concomitant use of strong CYP3A4 inducers such as rifampicin, phenytoin, carbamazepine, phenobarbital or St. John's wort as these may significantly reduce the availability of exemestane
  • Known hypersensitivity to exemestane or its excipients
  • Known intercurrent illness or psychiatric illness/social situations that will limit compliance with study requirements
  • Evidence or high suspicion of metastatic disease at enrollment
  • Women with severe bone density issues/osteoporosis (defined as any medical treatment for osteoporosis, and/or a T-score of -2.5 or lower, and/or history of fracture of the hip or spine)
  • Unwilling or unable to undergo research biopsy during the baseline (pre-surgical) clinic visit, or inadequate research biopsy obtained during the baseline (pre-surgical) clinic visit (determined by the gynecologic oncologist at the time of the subject's pelvic exam)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment (exemestane)
Patients receive exemestane PO QD over 21-42 days in the absence of disease progression or unaccepted toxicity. Patients undergo standard of care surgery between days 22-43.
Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis
Correlative studies
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Pharmacokinetic Study
Correlative studies
Other Names:
  • PHARMACOKINETIC
  • PK Study
Drug: Exemestane
Given PO
Other Names:
  • Aromasin
  • FCE-24304

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Tumor Proliferation
Time Frame: Baseline up to 2 months
Will be measured by change in Ki-67 expression. Will evaluate the change from baseline to post-exposure in absolute change in percent Ki-67 using one-sample Student's t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test, as appropriate.
Baseline up to 2 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Circulating Serum Estradiol
Time Frame: Baseline up to 2 months
Circulating serum estradiol pre and post treatment to determine the effect of daily dose of 25mg of exemestane for 21-42 days.
Baseline up to 2 months
Changes in Circulating Serum Progesterone
Time Frame: Baseline up to 2 months
Circulating serum progesterone pre and post treatment to determine the effect of daily dose of 25mg of exemestane for 21-42 days.
Baseline up to 2 months
Percent of Participants by Pathological Response Class at 2 Months
Time Frame: Up to 2 months
This measure assesses change in categories in pathological response. As pathological response is an ordered categorical variable with classes of No visible lesion, CAH/EIN, Grade I, Grade II, and Grade III in this study, a change in class from baseline to time of surgery represents a decrease or increase in disease severity.
Up to 2 months
Change From Baseline in Percent of Cells Positive for Tissue Markers
Time Frame: Up to 2 months
Assessment of change from baseline for apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3), proliferation (cyclin D1), insulin pathway (pAKT, IGF-1R), and endocrine regulation (estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor/androgen receptor). The units for absolute change in is % Positive.
Up to 2 months
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Mutational Analysis
Time Frame: Up to 2 months
Will be analyzed by next generation sequencing.
Up to 2 months
Protein Markers
Time Frame: Up to 2 months
Perform pre- and post-treatment proteomic analysis of vaginal proteins from tampon recovery to identify biomarkers that may predict response to exemestane treatment.
Up to 2 months
Ki-67 Expression With Historic Controls
Time Frame: Up to 2 months
Will compare Ki-67 expression between participants samples and historically matched samples.
Up to 2 months
Plasma Levels of Exemestane
Time Frame: Up to 2 months
Will evaluate plasma levels of exemestane pre and post treatment.
Up to 2 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Britt K Erickson, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 15, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 13, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 14, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 2, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 2, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 3, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 29, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 19, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NCI-2017-01782 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))
  • P30CA014520 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • N01-CN-2012-00033
  • N01CN00033 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • UW17010
  • 2016LS183 / UWI17010/UAB1788 (Other Identifier: University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center - University Hospital)
  • UWI2016-08-01 (Other Identifier: DCP)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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