Serial Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) Monitoring During Adjuvant Capecitabine in Early Triple-negative Breast Cancer

April 9, 2026 updated by: Stanford University

Phase II Trial of Circulating Tumor DNA Monitoring During Adjuvant Capecitabine in Patients With Triple-negative Breast Cancer and Residual Disease Following Standard Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the use of a circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assay, ie, a "liquid biopsy," as a tool to identify triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients who will or will not experience benefit from treatment with capecitabine. Participants will be monitored for changes in ctDNA in the blood over time received during capecitabine treatment. Results of ctDNA analysis will be correlated to genetic characteristics of individual tumors. This may inform future clinical trials in which patients could receive a different treatment than capecitabine to reduce their risk of breast cancer relapse.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

The Primary Objective is to characterize the circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profile of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in participants with residual disease after standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) receiving standard-of-care adjuvant capecitabine.

The Secondary Objectives are to correlate ctDNA levels with genomic features and survival.

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 (Estimated)

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 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
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94304
        • Recruiting
        • Stanford University
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Melinda Telli, MD
        • Contact:

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Anatomic stage I - III triple-negative breast cancer at diagnosis
  2. Estrogen receptors (ER) and Progesterone receptors (PR) status <10%
  3. Residual disease following at least 4 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients who received other investigational immunotherapy or targeted therapy during the neoadjuvant phase of treatment are eligible.
  4. ≥ 18 years of age
  5. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 2
  6. All clinically significant toxic effects of prior cancer therapy resolved to Grade ≤ 1 by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5.0 (NCI CTCAE, v 5.0), except alopecia and G2 neuropathy.
  7. No evidence of metastatic disease.
  8. A minimum 4-week wash out from previous chemotherapy treatment is required.
  9. Adequate hematologic function: Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,500 cells/μL (≥ 1,500/mm3); Platelets ≥ 100,000 cells/μL (≥ 100,000/mm3)
  10. Adequate hepatic function: Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times the specific institutional upper limit of normal (ULN). Exception: If Gilbert's syndrome; then ≤ 5 times ULN. Aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) each ≤ 2.5 x ULN
  11. Adequate renal function: Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 x ULN; or calculated creatinine clearance > 50 mL/min using the Cockcroft Gault formula.
  12. Planned for 6 months or 8 cycles of adjuvant capecitabine.
  13. Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must have a negative pregnancy test.
  14. WOCBP must agree to use effective contraception during the study and for 3 months after the last dose.
  15. Male participants and their female partners of child bearing potential must be willing to use an appropriate method of contraception during the study and for 3 months after the last dose.
  16. Capable of giving signed informed consent, which includes compliance with requirements and restrictions listed in the informed consent form (ICF) and in the protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Metastatic breast cancer
  2. Has not had definitive surgical resection
  3. Pregnant or breastfeeding
  4. Has not completed definitive adjuvant radiation if planned
  5. Known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positivity or active hepatitis B or C.
  6. Investigational agents within 4 weeks of study initiation
  7. Inability to swallow oral medications

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: Treatment
  • 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: Capecitabine
1000 mg/m2 administered on Days 1 to 14 of 21-day cycles
Drug: Capecitabine
1000 mg/m2 administered on Days 1 to 14 of 21-day treatment cycles, for 8 cycles.
Other Names:
  • fluoropyrimidine carbamate

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
Baseline levels of ctDNA detection
Time Frame: 6 months

In participants with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have received standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) will be assessed at baseline and after 6 months of standard adjuvant capecitabine treatment. The outcome will be reported as the number of participants who are:

  • ctDNA+ (ctDNA-positive) at baseline and at 6 months.
  • ctDNA+ at baseline but ctDNA- (ctDNA-negative) at 6 months.
  • ctDNA- at baseline and at 6 months.
  • ctDNA- at baseline but ctDNA+ at 6 months.

The outcome is a number without dispersion.
6 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
Correlation of ctDNA levels with genomic features of tumor
Time Frame: 24 weeks

Genomic status of certain mutations in the tumor will be assessed by next-generation sequencing in participants who are:

  • ctDNA+ (ctDNA-positive) at baseline and at 6 months.
  • ctDNA+ at baseline but ctDNA- (ctDNA-negative) at 6 months.
  • ctDNA- at baseline and at 6 months.
  • ctDNA- at baseline but ctDNA+ at 6 months.

The genes of interest are:

PIK3CA AKT AKT1 PTEN BRCA1 BRCA2 PALB2 CHEK2 ATM NBN BRIP1 BARD1 MRE11 ATR RAD50 RAD51C RAD51D FANCA FANCC FANCD2 FANCE FANCF FANCG FANCL.

The outcome will be reported as the number of participants with a positive mutation status in the gene of interest. The outcome is a number without dispersion.
24 weeks
Overall Survival (OS)
Time Frame: 5 years
Overall survival (OS) will be assessed as participants remaining alive 5 years from the first treatment initiation. The outcome is reported as the number of participants alive (without dispersion).
5 years
Relapse-Free Survival
Time Frame: 5 years
Relapse-free survival is defined as the time from treatment initiation to first invasive relapse or death, through 5 years. The outcome is reported as the number of participants with relapse-free survival (without dispersion) at 5 years.
5 years

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.
Stanford University

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: Melinda Telli, Stanford Universiy

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.
February 3, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
July 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
July 1, 2031

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 19, 2021

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 19, 2021

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.
February 24, 2021

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.
April 13, 2026

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.
April 9, 2026

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.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • IRB-57723
  • NCI-2021-01757 (Other Identifier: National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Reporting Program)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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.

Yes

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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