Purged Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) From Metastatic Breast Cancer

February 28, 2013 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Phase II Study of Purging of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) From Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

The goal of this clinical research study is to learn the relationship of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in controlling metastatic breast cancer. The study also will investigate the role of CTCs in breast cancer.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Cyclophosphamide is designed to interfere with the multiplication of cancer cells, which may slow or stop their growth and spread throughout the body. This may cause the cancer cells to die. Carboplatin and thiotepa are designed to interfere with the growth of cancer cells by stopping cell division, which may cause the cells to die. Mesna is designed to prevent toxicities from cyclophosphamide. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF or GCSF) is designed to help your white blood count recover after transplant.

If you are found to be eligible to take part in this study, you will be given G-CSF twice a day through a needle under the skin (subcutaneous injection), on Days 1-5. On Day 5, stem cell collection will begin. You will have a catheter placed into a vein in your chest. A central venous catheter is a sterile flexible tube that will be placed into a large vein while you are under local anesthesia. Your physician will explain this procedure to you in more detail, and you will be required to sign a separate consent form for this procedure.

If further shrinkage of tumor is needed, the doctor may use chemotherapy combined with G-CSF described above. Your doctor will explain this procedure to you in more detail, and you will be asked to sign a separate consent form for this procedure.

Blood will be removed from your body through the catheter and passed through a machine that separates the stem cells from the other cells. The stem cells will be frozen for storage, and the blood will be returned to your body. This 3-hour process is called apheresis. The process will be done once a day for 1-6 days until enough stem cells are collected. Blood ( about 4 teaspoons) will be collected at the first Apheresis to have as a comparison sample to check for any breast cancer leftover in the blood.

The collected blood cells will go through a filter to select out the blood stem cells and the CTCs will be left behind.

Blood (about 2 tablespoons) will be drawn daily during peripheral blood stem cell collection.

On Days 6, 5, 4, and 3 before the transplant, you will receive cyclophosphamide, mesna, thiotepa, and carboplatin through a needle in your vein. Blood (about 2 teaspoons) will be drawn for routine tests.

On Day 0, your stem cells will be transplanted. Stem cells will go through a device to remove the breast cancer cells. If the bone marrow is collected because there was not enough stem cells, researchers will not treat the bone marrow to remove breast cancer cells. Collected breast cancer cells will be studied to understand the biological role of these cancer cells.

After the transplant, G-CSF will be given through a needle under your skin until the white blood cell count is normal for 3 days in a row.

Blood (about 2 tablespoons) will be drawn daily after the transplant while you are still in the hospital. You are expected to remain in the hospital for 3 weeks. Once you are released from the hospital, you will have blood (about 2 tablespoons) drawn for routine tests every week until your cell counts recover.

Five (5) weeks after your transplant, if your doctor thinks it is needed, you will have radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, or receive trastuzumab.

At Months 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, and 24 after the transplant, your complete medical history will be recorded, and you will have a physical exam. You will have a chest X-ray and bone scan. If your doctor thinks it is needed, you will have an x-ray of hot spots which are areas that show positive on the bone scan. If your doctor thinks it is needed, you may have a CT scan of the head, a mammogram, or a breast ultrasound performed. At Months 1 and 3 after the transplant, you will have a PET/CT scan. At Months 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, and 24 after the transplant, you will have a CT scan of the chest and abdomen then as needed to check the status of the disease. Blood (about 2 teaspoons) will be drawn to measure cancer markers and CTCs.

While on study you must notify the doctor of any new drugs you are taking.

This is an investigational study. The transplant is not FDA approved. The drugs G-CSF, cyclophosphamide, carboplatin, and thiotepa are all approved by the FDA and commercially available. The CliniMACS device is not commercially available or FDA approved. The CliniMACS device is being used in research only and will be provided free of charge. Up to 70 patients will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at M. D. Anderson.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

32

Phase

  • 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

    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • UT MD Anderson 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. 18 to 55 years old
  2. Metastatic breast carcinoma.
  3. Histological confirmation of invasive breast carcinoma
  4. Complete or partial response to pre-transplant standard-dose chemotherapy, or hormonal therapy. For bone disease, stable disease (SD) is allowed.
  5. Patient must have tumor assessed for estrogen-receptor (ER) and progesterone-receptor (PR).
  6. Persistent detectable or non-detectable CTCs by Veridex Technology after completion of standard therapy.
  7. Zubrod performance status 0 or 1.
  8. Patients must have adequate hematological parameters (White Blood Count/WBC >= 3,000/mm3; platelet count >= 100,000/mm3)
  9. Adequate renal function (serum creatinine <= 1.5mg/dl)
  10. Adequate liver function (total bilirubin, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) <= 2 times normal).
  11. Adequate cardiac function (Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)>= 50%).
  12. Adequate pulmonary function (Carbon Monoxide Diffusing Capacity (DLCO)>= 50% of predicted value).
  13. Females of childbearing (women who are post-menopausal < 1 year, not surgically sterilized, or not abstinent) potential must use adequate contraception.
  14. Patients must sign an informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Prior HDCT with Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHST) in adjuvant setting.
  2. History or presence of brain/leptomeningeal metastasis.
  3. History of other malignancies except cured non-melanoma skin cancer or cured cervical carcinoma in situ.
  4. Presence of other severe medical illnesses or conditions. Severe heart disease, (myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, etc.) Pulmonary disease (COPD, asthma,etc). Renal failure and hepatic failure.
  5. Clinically significant active infections (patient requiring IV antibiotics, uncontrolled infections, or hospitalized due to infections).
  6. HIV infection.
  7. Pregnant or lactating women.
  8. Medical, social or psychologic factors which would prevent the patient from receiving or cooperating with the full course of therapy or understanding the informed consent procedure.

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: High-dose chemotherapy
Carboplatin + Cyclophosphamide + Thiotepa
Target Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 20, then divided into 4 doses given by vein (IV) days -6, -5, -4, -3 prior to stem cell infusion.
Other Names:
  • Paraplatin
1.5 gm/m^2 by vein days -6, -5, -4, -3 prior to stem cell infusion.
Other Names:
  • Cytoxan
  • Neosar
120 mg/m^2 by vein days -6, -5, -4, -3 prior to stem cell infusion.
Stem Cell Transplant on Day 0.
Other Names:
  • SCT
  • Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
  • AHST

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants With Reduction in CTCs Following High-dose Chemotherapy With Purged Autologous Stem Cell Products
Time Frame: Baseline to 1 month post AHST
Number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) measured at one month post autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHST), considered both as longitudinal values and compared to the baseline number of CTCs.
Baseline to 1 month post AHST

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Median Progression Free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: Overall study (baseline to disease progression)
Kaplan-Meier estimate of the median time from randomization to death from any cause or first observed disease progression. PFS time measured in months.
Overall study (baseline to disease progression)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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.

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

June 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 29, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 30, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

January 31, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 10, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 28, 2013

Last Verified

February 1, 2013

More Information

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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