Oxaloacetate for the Improvement of Cognitive Complaints in Stage 0-IIIA Breast Cancer Survivors

July 11, 2025 updated by: Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

A Phase II Single Arm Trial Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Anhydrous Enol-Oxaloacetate on Improving Cognitive Complaints in Breast Cancer Survivors

This phase II trial studies how well oxaloacetate works in reducing cognitive complaints in stage 0-IIIA breast cancer survivors. Oxaloacetate is a natural substance found in the body and is available as a nutritional supplement. Giving oxaloacetate may reduce inflammation in the brain that could be contributing to cognitive complaints seen after cancer treatments.

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 examine the effectiveness of anhydrous enol-oxaloacetate (oxaloacetate) in reducing cognitive complaints in breast cancer patients over the course of 8 weeks.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess the tolerability of oxaloacetate. II. To examine whether oxaloacetate has an effect on the neurocognitive domain of executive function.

III. To examine whether oxaloacetate has an effect on patient reported fatigue, insomnia, and depressive symptoms.

IV. To collect blood for assessment of inflammatory markers and glutamate levels.

OUTLINE:

Patients receive anhydrous enol-oxaloacetate orally (PO) twice daily (BID) for 8 weeks in the absence of worsening symptoms or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 4 weeks.

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.
18

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
        • UCLA / Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

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

18 years to 74 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women with a diagnosis of early stage breast cancer (stage 0, I, II, IIIa) who are at least 12 months after surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, but may be on endocrine therapy or HER-2 targeted therapy, and not more than 5 years after their breast cancer diagnosis
  • No evidence of active/recurrent breast cancer or other serious chronic illness
  • Has significant cognitive complaints, defined as a score of < 12 on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Adult version (v) 2.0 - Cognitive Function 4a
  • Is geographically accessible, and able to participate in a study of 8-10 weeks duration
  • Ability to complete evaluation surveys in English
  • The effects of oxaloacetate on the developing human fetus at the recommended therapeutic dose are unknown. For this reason, women of childbearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (barrier method of birth control; intrauterine device [IUD]; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Women of any age who have had their ovaries and/or uterus removed will not be at risk for pregnancy and will not require contraception. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her study physician immediately. Menopausal status will be established as follows: Women who are 55 years or older and who are not menstruating will be considered postmenopausal and not at risk for pregnancy. Women who are less than 55 years old who are menstruating will be considered premenopausal and will require contraception. Women who are less than 55 years with an intact uterus and ovaries who are not menstruating and have not had a menstrual period within the past 2 years will have an follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol measured. If the values are in postmenopausal range the woman will be considered postmenopausal and she will not be considered at risk for pregnancy
  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Has another serious or chronic medical or psychiatric condition that contributes to substantial physical or emotional disability that would detract from participating in the planned study
  • Taking chronic medications that would interfere with cognitive functioning such as medications for sleep, anxiety, narcotics for pain, use of illicit drugs or cannabis
  • Participants may not be receiving any other investigational agents
  • History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to oxaloacetate
  • Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
  • Pregnant or breast-feeding women are excluded from this study because the safety of oxaloacetate in this setting is unknown. A pregnancy test will be performed on all women with an intact uterus and ovaries who are not determined to be postmenopausal

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: Supportive Care
  • 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: Supportive care (anhydrous enol-oxaloacetate)
Patients receive anhydrous enol-oxaloacetate PO BID for 8 weeks in the absence of worsening symptoms or unacceptable toxicity.
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Drug: Anhydrous Enol-oxaloacetate
Given PO

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 Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function Perceived Cognitive Impairment (FACT-Cog PCI) score
Time Frame: Baseline up to day 57
Patients who have an improvement in the FACT-Cog PCI of at least 4 points will be considered to have a positive response. The response proportion will be further characterized using a point estimate and 95% exact binomial confidence interval.
Baseline up to day 57

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
Incidence of adverse events
Time Frame: Up to day 57
Will be assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.
Up to day 57
Fatigue
Time Frame: At day 57
Will be assessed by Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory. Scores will be summarized as means and standard deviations and confidence intervals will be calculated. Changes will also be summarized as effect sizes to support design of a future trial.
At day 57
Insomnia
Time Frame: At day 57
Will be assessed by the Insomnia Severity Index. Scores will be summarized as means and standard deviations and confidence intervals will be calculated. Changes will also be summarized as effect sizes to support design of a future trial.
At day 57
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: At day 57
Will be assessed by Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System. Scores will be summarized as means and standard deviations and confidence intervals will be calculated. Changes will also be summarized as effect sizes to support design of a future trial.
At day 57
Neurocognitive tests
Time Frame: Up to day 57
Subjects will be assessed by the California Verbal Learning Test-2nd edition, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Golden Stroop, Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency, Connor's Continuous Performance Test-II. All scales listed will have the individual scores transformed by using published normative data, therefore the unit of measure will be the same for the listed tests; higher scores indicate better performance.
Up to day 57

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.
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
MetVital, Inc.

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: Patricia A Ganz, UCLA / Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

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.
September 29, 2021

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.
November 12, 2024

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.
November 12, 2024

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).
February 25, 2020

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.
February 27, 2020

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.
March 2, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
July 15, 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.
July 11, 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.
July 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.
  • 19-001881 (Other Identifier: UCLA / Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center)
  • NCI-2020-00676 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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