PET Dynamics to Response-Adapted Neoadjuvant Therapy in TNBC (NeoADAPT)

September 2, 2026 updated by: Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

A Pilot Study of Neoadjuvant Response-Adapted Chemotherapy With Pembrolizumab in Patients With Stage 2 and 3 Triple Negative Breast Cancer to Determine Early PET and Biomarker Dynamics

Eligible patients with stage 2 and 3 triple negative breast cancer will be treated with 4 cycles of neoadjuvant paclitaxel/carboplatin/pembrolizumab. A PET scan will be performed at baseline and after 1 cycle of therapy. A breast MRI will be performed after treatment completion. Patients with complete clinical response will proceed to surgery. Patients with clinical residual disease will complete neoadjuvant rescue with 4 cycles of doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide prior to surgery. If residual disease identified after surgery, adjuvant therapy to be determined by the treating oncologist (may include doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide/pembrolizumab, capecitabine etc).

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

Eligible participants will undergo baseline procedures including research bloodwork, MRI and PET scan. Participants will then be treated with one cycle of paclitaxel, carboplatin and pembrolizumab (TCarbo/pembro). At the end of Cycle one patients will undergo repeat procedures (bloodwork and PET scan), and then continue with treatment for an additional three cycles. ctDNA will be collected on day 1 of each cycle. At the end of treatment patients will undergo repeat MRI.

Patients achieving a clinical complete response (CR) on MRI will proceed with surgery. Patients with clinical residual disease (RD) on MRI will be recommended a biopsy, and be recommended "rescue" neoadjuvant doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide with pembrolizumab (AC/pembro) for four additional cycles, and then proceed with surgery. Note: patients/treating physician may opt to proceed with surgery.

Archival tissue will be collected from the surgical product. Patients achieving a pathologic CR (pCR) may proceed with adjuvant pembrolizumab per standard of care, and treating physician's discretion. Patients with pathological RD may proceed with "rescue" adjuvant AC/pembrolizumab for four additional cycles (if not given neoadjuvantly), per treating physician discretion. The participants may also receive Aadjuvant capecitabine or olaparib as indicated and per treating physician's discretion.

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.
30

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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
        • Recruiting
        • Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
        • 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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Stage II-III TNBC - estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) up to and including 10% is eligible
  2. Age ≥ 18 years
  3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 2

  4. Eligible for standard chemo-immunotherapy as determined by treating physician, including consideration of:

    1. Adequate marrow and organ function
    2. Co-morbid conditions do not preclude the use of chemo-immunotherapy (such as uncontrolled autoimmune disease, or the use of immunosuppressive medications)
  5. Patients must have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent prior to registration on study

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients unable to undergo PET or MRI
  2. Evidence of metastatic disease or loco-regional recurrence (i.e. distant or chest wall recurrence)
  3. Inflammatory breast cancer
  4. Previous treatment with paclitaxel, carboplatin, or immune checkpoint inhibitors

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: Sequential 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: Neoadjuvant therapy
4 cycles of paclitaxel/carboplatin/pembrolizumab
Drug: Carboplatin
chemotherapy
Other Names:
  • Paraplatin
Drug: Paclitaxel
chemotherapy
Other Names:
  • Taxol
Drug: Pembrolizumab
immunotherapy
Other Names:
  • Keytruda
Drug: Doxorubicin
additional chemotherapy - neoadjuvant or adjuvant rescue
Other Names:
  • Adriamycin
Drug: Cyclophosphamide
additional chemotherapy - adjuvant rescue
Other Names:
  • Cytoxan
Drug: Olaparib
adjuvant rescue
Other Names:
  • Lynparza
Drug: Capecitabine
adjuvant rescue
Other Names:
  • Xeloda

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
SULmax in relation to pCR
Time Frame: 8 months
Evaluate if lack of decrease in fluorodeooxyglucose (FDG) / positron emission tomography (PET) standardized uptake value corrected for lean body mass (SULmax) by <40% after 1 cycle of neoadjuvant therapy correlates with residual disease at the time of surgery.
8 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
Pathologic complete response (pCR)
Time Frame: 3 years
Evaluate the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate in patients with early-stage triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) treated with neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy.
3 years
Circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) clearance
Time Frame: 3 years
Evaluate how circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) kinetics collected at pre-treatment, and during and after completion of neoadjuvant treatment correlate with pathologic complete response (pCR) at the time of surgery.
3 years

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pathologic complete response (pCR) comparison
Time Frame: 3 years
Compare the pathologic complete response (pCR) rates among patients who achieved clinical complete response (cCR) by breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and those received "rescue" neoadjuvant AC/pembrolizumab with clinical residual disease (RD) after MRI scan.
3 years
Diagnostic accuracy of percent and absolute change between baseline and C1D15 measurements
Time Frame: 3 years
Evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of percent and absolute change (between baseline and C1D15 measurements), and C1D15 absolute measurements in fluorodeooxyglucose (FDG) / positron emission tomography (PET) standardized uptake value corrected for lean body mass (SULmax) for predicting clinical complete response (cCR) using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.
3 years
Clinical complete response (cCR) and pathologic complete response (pCR)
Time Frame: 3 years
Investigate if clinical complete response (cCR) by MRI is predictive of pathologic complete response (pCR).
3 years
Change in microbiome
Time Frame: 3 years
Number of patients that experienced changes in the microbiome serially over time of residual disease.
3 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.
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

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

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.
  • Study Chair: Cesar A Santa-Maria, MD, Johns Hopkins University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
May 1, 2024

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.
June 1, 2029

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.
June 1, 2030

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).
January 23, 2024

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 5, 2024

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 7, 2024

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.
September 3, 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.
September 2, 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.
September 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.
  • J2395
  • IRB00398141 (Other Identifier: JHM IRB)

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

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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