Aromatase Inhibitors in Premenopausal Breast Cancer Patients With Chemotherapy-Induced Ovarian Failure

May 19, 2014 updated by: Lynn Henry, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center

Women with hormone-receptor positive breast cancer are typically treated with hormone therapy as part of their treatment after surgery. In the past few years it has been found that treatment with aromatase inhibitors is superior to tamoxifen in postmenopausal women. Tamoxifen is still used for premenopausal women, however, because aromatase inhibitors are not effective in women who have functioning ovaries. Some women are premenopausal at the time they are diagnosed with breast cancer, but then stop having menstrual periods when they are treated with chemotherapy. It is unclear if these women can also be treated safely with aromatase inhibitors.

In this clinical trial the researchers will try to answer this question. Women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer who become postmenopausal with chemotherapy will be invited to participate in this study. Each woman will be treated with one of the aromatase inhibitors, anastrozole (Arimidex), and then carefully monitored to ensure that her ovaries do not start making estrogen. If her estrogen level remains low, then she will continued to be followed for 18 months. If the level increases to the level typically seen in premenopausal women, however, then she will stop taking part in this study.

The study will also evaluate multiple factors that may help doctors predict who will tolerate the therapy without having their ovaries start making estrogen again. Some of the factors to be evaluated include other hormone levels (blood tests) as well as family history of early menopause (mother, sisters). In addition, changes in certain genes that affect how patients' bodies handle chemotherapy drugs will be tested to see if they affect whether or not patients recover ovarian function. Overall, the purpose of the study is to determine which patients who become postmenopausal from chemotherapy are likely to tolerate aromatase inhibitor treatment safely, and how often the patients' ovarian function needs to be tested during treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

69

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

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21231-2410
        • Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Center at Johns Hopkins
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Dana-Farber Cancer Center
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
        • University of Michigan

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 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

To be eligible for this study:

  1. You must be at least 18 years of age and not older than 60 years of age
  2. You have breast cancer which was confined to the breast and lymph nodes under the arm, and have no evidence of cancer elsewhere
  3. You must have had surgical removal of your tumor, and if indicated, radiation therapy must have been completed or planned
  4. Your tumor must express estrogen and/or progesterone receptors
  5. You must have had a menstrual period within 6 months before starting chemotherapy for your breast cancer.
  6. You must have been treated with a chemotherapy regimen that includes cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan). Your menstrual periods must have stopped for at least 8 weeks starting during or after chemotherapy.

Exclusion Criteria:

You are not eligible to participate in this study if:

1. Your ovaries have been surgically removed, treated with radiation therapy, or if you are taking medications (Zoladex™ or Lupron™) to block the function of your ovaries.

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: anastrozole
Drug: anastrozole
1 mg tablet by mouth once a day
Other Names:
  • Arimidex

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Number of Women Who Recover Ovarian Function Within 12 Months of Al Monotherapy
Time Frame: 12 months
In part 1 ovarian function recurrence is defined as one estradiol value >20 pg/ml or two consecutive values >10 pg/ml. In part 2 ovarian function recurrence is defined as a >75% increase in estradiol levels over prior if prior value was 15-30 pg/ml, or one estradiol value >30 pg/ml, or three consecutive values >20 pg/ml.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Norah L. Henry, M.D., Ph.D., University of Michigan

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

August 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 6, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 7, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

November 8, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 19, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2014

Last Verified

May 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UMCC 2007.044
  • HUM 12443 (Other Identifier: University of Michigan Medical IRB)

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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