Addition of Carboplatin to Neoadjuvant Therapy for Triple-negative and HER2-positive Early Breast Cancer (GeparSixto)

A Randomized Phase II Trial Investigating the Addition of Carboplatin to Neoadjuvant Therapy for Triple-negative and HER2-positive Early Breast Cancer

Study participants with primary breast cancer will receive a standard chemotherapy with an anthracycline and a taxane as well as trastuzumab in case of HER2-positive tumors at doses and duration in concordance to current treatment guidelines. Patients will be receive and benefit in addition currently not in the neoadjuvant setting registered medication as lapatinib or bevacizumab of which significant increases of cure (pCR) rates have been reported in previous phase III studies. Patients randomized to carboplatin will receive in addition to the described backbone therapies a potentially active agent which suggested synergy of efficacy with chemotherapies as well as targeted agents. Patients might have the risk of an increase in toxicities due to the added agents and will have additional burden due to investigations required for study participation. However, due to the severity of the underlying disease and the high risk of relapse and death due to the stage of disease, this increase in toxicity and burden appears less relevant compared to the potential higher efficacy and finally cure rate by the incorporated treatments.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Inflammatory Breast Cancer; HER-2 Positive Breast Cancer; Tubular Breast Cancer Stage II; Mucinous Breast Cancer Stage II; Breast Cancer Female NOS; Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer; Tubular Breast Cancer Stage III; Inflammatory Breast Cancer Stage IV
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Carboplatin; Drug: background treatment

Detailed Description

Anthracycline/taxane based combination chemotherapy of at least 18 weeks represents the standard of care in the neoadjuvant setting. In HER2-positive disease trastuzumab is given simultaneously to chemotherapy. Recent data from the Neo-Altto and Neosphere trials suggest that a dual blockage of the HER2 receptor with e.g. trastuzumab and lapatinib reach significantly higher pCR rates than trastuzumab alone and should therefore represent the treatment back-bone of new neoadjuvant trials. A preplanned subgroup analysis of the GeparQuinto study demonstrated that in TNBC the addition of bevacizumab resulted in a significant increase of pCR rates (HR 1.4).

Having a better cardiac tolerability profile compared to conventional anthracyclines, the non-pegylated liposomal encapsulated doxorubicin (NPLD) Myocet® might provide the possibility to combine taxane, anthracycline, platinum salt as well with targeted agents as double HER2 blockage or bevacizumab.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 595
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Heidelberg, Germany
    • NCT Heidelberg
  • Brandenburg
    • Fürstenwalde, Brandenburg, Germany, 15517
      • Praxis Dr. Heinrich
  • Nordrhein-Westfalen
    • Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, 40235
      • Luisenkrankenhaus

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 1.Written informed consent for all study procedures according to local regulatory requirements prior to beginning specific protocol procedures.
• 2.Complete baseline documentation must be submitted via Medcodes® and approved by GBG Forschungs GmbH.
• 3.Unilateral or bilateral primary carcinoma of the breast, confirmed histologically by core biopsy. Fine-needle aspiration is not sufficient. Incisional biopsy is not allowed. In case of bilateral cancer, the investigator has to decide prospectively which side will be evaluated for the primary endpoint.
• 4.Tumor lesion in the breast with a palpable size of ≥ 2 cm or a sonographical size of ≥ 1 cm in maximum diameter. The lesion has to be measurable in two dimensions, preferably by sonography. In case of inflammatory disease, the extent of inflammation can be used as measurable lesion.
• 5.Patients should be in the following stages of disease: cT2 - cT4a-d or cT1c and cN+ or pNSLN+
• 6.In patients with multifocal or multicentric breast cancer, the largest lesion should be measured.
• 7.Centrally confirmed ER/PR/HER-2 and Ki-67 status detected on core biopsy. ER/PR positive is defined as >1% stained cells and HER2-positive is defined as HercepTest IHC 3+ or FISH ratio ≥ 2.2. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) breast tissue from core biopsy has therefore to be sent to the Dept. of Pathology at the Charité, Berlin prior to randomization.
• 8.Age ≥ 18 years.
• 9.Karnofsky Performance status index ≥ 80%.
• 10.Normal cardiac function must be confirmed by ECG and cardiac ultrasound (LVEF or shortening fraction) within 3 months prior to randomization. LVEF must be above 55%.
• 11.Laboratory requirements: Hematology
• Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 2.0 x 109 / L and
• Platelets ≥ 100 x 109 / L and
• Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL (≥ 6.2 mmol/L) Hepatic function
• Total bilirubin < 1.5x UNL and
• ASAT (SGOT) and ALAT (SGPT) ≤ 1.5x UNL and
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5x UNL. Renal function
• Creatinine ≤ 175 µmol/L (2 mg/dL) < 1.5x UNL
• Proteinuria: Urine dipstick for proteinuria < 2+. Patients discovered to have ≥ 2+ proteinuria on dipstick urinalysis should undergo a 24-hour urine collection and must demonstrate ≤ 1 g of protein in 24 hours. If creatinine is between 140 - 175 umol/L (1.6-2.0 mg/dL), the creatinine clearance (calculated or measured) should be ≥ 45 mL/min.
• 12.Negative pregnancy test (urine or serum) within 14 days prior to randomization for all women of childbearing potential.
• 13.Complete staging work-up within 3 months prior to randomization. All patients must have bilateral mammography, breast ultrasound (≤ 21 days), breast MRI (optional), chest X-ray (PA and lateral), abdominal ultrasound or CT scan or MRI, and bone scan done. In case of positive bone scan, bone X-ray (or CT or MRI) is mandatory. Other tests may be performed as clinically indicated.
• 14.Patients must be available and compliant for central diagnostics, treatment and follow-up.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Prior chemotherapy for any malignancy.
2. Prior radiation therapy for breast cancer.
3. Pregnant or lactating patients. Patients of childbearing potential must implement adequate non-hormonal contraceptive measures (barrier methods, intrauterine contraceptive devices, sterilization) during study treatment.
4. Inadequate general condition (not fit for anthracycline-taxane-targeted agents-based chemotherapy).
5. Previous malignant disease being disease-free for less than 5 years (except CIS of the cervix and non-melanomatous skin cancer).
6. Known or suspected congestive heart failure (>NYHA I) and / or coronary heart disease, angina pectoris requiring antianginal medication, previous history of myocardial infarction, evidence of transmural infarction on ECG, uncontrolled or poorly controlled arterial hypertension (i.e. BP >160 / 90 mm Hg under treatment with two antihypertensive drugs), rhythm abnormalities requiring permanent treatment, clinically significant valvular heart disease.
7. Previous thromboembolic event (except when thrombophily screening is negative).
8. Known hemorrhagic diathesis or coagulopathy with increased bleeding risk.
9. History of significant neurological or psychiatric disorders including psychotic disorders, dementia or seizures that would prohibit the understanding and giving of informed consent
10. Pre-existing motor or sensory neuropathy of a severity ≥ grade 2 by NCI-CTC criteria v 4.0.
11. Currently active infection.
12. Active peptic ulcer.
13. Incomplete wound healing or unhealed bone fracture.
14. Disease significantly affecting gastrointestinal function, e.g. malabsorption syndrome, resection of the stomach or small bowel, ulcerative colitis.
15. History of abdominal fistula or any grade 4 non-gastrointestinal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation or intra-abdominal abscess within 6 months of enrolment.
16. Severe pulmonary condition / illness.
17. Major surgery within the last 28 days or anticipation of the need for major surgery during study treatment with bevacizumab. Minor surgeries including insertion of an indwelling catheter or sentinel lymph node biopsy within 24 h prior to chemotherapy.
18. Definite contraindications for the use of corticosteroids except inhalative corticoids.
19. Known hypersensitivity reaction to one of the compounds or incorporated substances used in this protocol;

20. Concurrent treatment with:

    • chronic corticosteroids unless initiated > 6 months prior to study entry and at low dose (≤ 10 mg methylprednisolone or equivalent).
    • sex hormones. Prior treatment must be stopped before study entry.
    • virostatic agents like sorivudine or analogs like brivudine, concurrent treatment with aminoglycosides.
    • anticoagulants: heparin, warfarin as well as acetylic acid (e.g. Aspirin®) at a dose of > 325 mg/day or clopidogrel at a dose of > 75 mg/day.
    • other experimental drugs or any other anti-cancer therapy.
    • drugs recognized as being strong inhibitors or inducers of the isoenzyme CYP3A, e.g. Rifabutin, Rifampicin, Clarithromycin, Ketoconazole, Itraconazole, Ritonavir, Telithromycin, Erythromycin, Verapamil, Diltiazem within the last 5 days or the expected need for these treatments during study participation.
21. Participation in another clinical trial with any investigational, not marketed drug within 30 days prior to study entry.
22. Male patients.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Carboplatin + background treatment; Carboplatin AUC 2 min/mL weekly, infusion will be used as Add-on to the background therapy (same as comparator arm)	Drug: Carboplatin; Carboplatin, AUC, 2 min/mL weekly, infusion; Other Names: platin; Drug: background treatment; background treatment according to standards fpr triple negative and Her2pos breast cancer patients Paclitaxel: 80 mg/m² i.v. given weekly on day 1 q day 8 for 18 weeks. NPLD (Myocet®): 20 mg/m² weekly on day 1 q day 8 for 18 weeks Trastuzumab (only for HER2-positive patients): Loading dose: 8 mg/kg, Maintenance dose: 6 mg/kg, day 1 q day 22 for 6 cycles. Post-surgery: up to a total duration of 1 year according to current AGO guidelines Lapatinib 750 mg/day p.o. continuously for 18 weeks; in case of good tolerability (no CTC grade II toxicity except alopecia and nausea/vomiting) during the first cycle the dose may be escalated to 1000 mg. Bevacizumab: 15 mg/kg i.v., day 1 q day 22 for 6 cycles (only in TNBC patients).; Other Names: Avastin; Myocet; Bevacizumab; Lapatinib; Paclitaxel
Active Comparator: background treatment only; background treatment with NLPD (Myocet), Paclitaxel, Herceptin (Trastuzumab fpr Her2 pos), Tyverb (Lapatinib for Her2 pos), Avastin (Bevacizumab for triple negative) agents are used according to marketed formulation via normal procedures at each site and applied according to recommendations of the manufacturers.	Drug: background treatment; background treatment according to standards fpr triple negative and Her2pos breast cancer patients Paclitaxel: 80 mg/m² i.v. given weekly on day 1 q day 8 for 18 weeks. NPLD (Myocet®): 20 mg/m² weekly on day 1 q day 8 for 18 weeks Trastuzumab (only for HER2-positive patients): Loading dose: 8 mg/kg, Maintenance dose: 6 mg/kg, day 1 q day 22 for 6 cycles. Post-surgery: up to a total duration of 1 year according to current AGO guidelines Lapatinib 750 mg/day p.o. continuously for 18 weeks; in case of good tolerability (no CTC grade II toxicity except alopecia and nausea/vomiting) during the first cycle the dose may be escalated to 1000 mg. Bevacizumab: 15 mg/kg i.v., day 1 q day 22 for 6 cycles (only in TNBC patients).; Other Names: Avastin; Myocet; Bevacizumab; Lapatinib; Paclitaxel

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pathological complete response of breast and lymph nodes (ypT0 ypN0; primary endpoint)	Pathological response will be assessed considering all removed breast and lymphatic tissues from all surgeries. Surgery takes place shortly after the 18 weeks (six 3-week cycles) chemotherapy treatment. No microscopic evidence of residual viable tumor cells in all resected specimens of the breast and axilla meets the primary endpoint.	24 weeks (time window -3 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pharmacogenetic substudy	To correlate Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes with the associated toxicity and histologically assessed treatment effect.	Baseline
1.ypT0/is ypN0; ypT0; ypT0/is; ypN0, and regression grades		24 weeks (time window -3 weeks)
Clinical and imaging response	To determine the response rates of the breast tumor and axillary nodes based on physical examination and imaging tests. (sonography, mammography, or MRI) after treatment in both arms.	24 weeks (time window -3 weeks)
loco-regional invasive recurrence free survival (LRRFS), regional recurrence free survival (RRFS), local recurrence free survival (LRFS), distant-disease- free survival (DDFS), invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), and overall survival (OS)	LRRFS, RRFS, LRFS, DDFS, IDFS and OS are defined as the time period between registration and first event and will be analyzed after the end of the study by referring to data from GBG patient's registry.	5 years
Tolerability and Safety	Tolerability and Safety: Descriptive statistics for the 4 treatments will be given on the number of patients whose treatment had to be reduced, delayed or permanently stopped	during treatment 18 weeks
pCR rates per arm	• To assess the pCR rates per arm separately in patients with triple-negative tumors and HER2-positive tumors.	24 weeks (time window -3 weeks)
Breast and axilla conservation rate	To determine the breast and axilla conservation rate after each treatment.	24 weeks (time window -3 weeks)
pCR rate and local recurrence free survival in correlation to clinical complete response and negative core biopsy before surgery	To determine the pCR rate and local recurrence free survival (LRFS) in patients with a clinical complete response (cCR) and a negative core biopsy before surgery.	5 years
Clinical and imaging response	To determine the response rates of the breast tumor and axillary nodes based on physical examination and imaging tests. (sonography, mammography, or MRI) after treatment in both arms.	6 weeks
PCR rate in patients with a clinical complete response and a negative core biopsy	To assess the pCR rate in patients with a clinical complete response and a negative core biopsy before surgery.	24 weeks (time window -3 weeks)
Regional recurrence free survival (RRFS)in patients with initial node-positive axilla	To assess regional recurrence free survival (RRFS) in patients with initial node-positive axilla converted to negative at surgery and treated with sentinel node biopsy alone.	until event occurs - no events for cured patients
Examination and comparison of molecular markers	To examine and compare pre-specified molecular markers such as BRCA1-mRNA, P53, ALDH1, p4E-BP1, IL-8 metagene, B-Cell metagene as well as exploratory analyses and lymphocyte infiltration on core biopsies before and surgical tissue after end of chemotherapy. The aim is to identify potential predictive short and long term parameters.	Baseline, 6 weeks and 24 weeks
CTC Substudy	To assess, characterize, and correlate circulating tumor cells and proteins with the effect of treatment.	Baseline, 6 weeks and 24 weeks
Ovarian Substudy	To assess ovarian function measured by amenorrhea rate in correlation with changes in E2, FSH, Anti-Müller Hormone, ultrasound-follicle count in patients aged <45 years.	Baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 30 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: German Breast Group
• Collaborators: GlaxoSmithKline; Roche Pharma AG; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Gunter von Minckwitz, MD, Prof, ASCO, AACR, ESMO, DKG, DGGG, AGO, DGS, BIG, BCIRG, St. Gallen Consensus Panel

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Denkert C, von Minckwitz G, Brase JC, Sinn BV, Gade S, Kronenwett R, Pfitzner BM, Salat C, Loi S, Schmitt WD, Schem C, Fisch K, Darb-Esfahani S, Mehta K, Sotiriou C, Wienert S, Klare P, Andre F, Klauschen F, Blohmer JU, Krappmann K, Schmidt M, Tesch H, Kummel S, Sinn P, Jackisch C, Dietel M, Reimer T, Untch M, Loibl S. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without carboplatin in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive and triple-negative primary breast cancers. J Clin Oncol. 2015 Mar 20;33(9):983-91. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.58.1967. Epub 2014 Dec 22.
• von Minckwitz G, Schneeweiss A, Loibl S, Salat C, Denkert C, Rezai M, Blohmer JU, Jackisch C, Paepke S, Gerber B, Zahm DM, Kummel S, Eidtmann H, Klare P, Huober J, Costa S, Tesch H, Hanusch C, Hilfrich J, Khandan F, Fasching PA, Sinn BV, Engels K, Mehta K, Nekljudova V, Untch M. Neoadjuvant carboplatin in patients with triple-negative and HER2-positive early breast cancer (GeparSixto; GBG 66): a randomised phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2014 Jun;15(7):747-56. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(14)70160-3. Epub 2014 Apr 30.
• Loibl S, von Minckwitz G, Schneeweiss A, Paepke S, Lehmann A, Rezai M, Zahm DM, Sinn P, Khandan F, Eidtmann H, Dohnal K, Heinrichs C, Huober J, Pfitzner B, Fasching PA, Andre F, Lindner JL, Sotiriou C, Dykgers A, Guo S, Gade S, Nekljudova V, Loi S, Untch M, Denkert C. PIK3CA mutations are associated with lower rates of pathologic complete response to anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (her2) therapy in primary HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Oct 10;32(29):3212-20. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.55.7876. Epub 2014 Sep 8.
• Hahnen E, Lederer B, Hauke J, Loibl S, Krober S, Schneeweiss A, Denkert C, Fasching PA, Blohmer JU, Jackisch C, Paepke S, Gerber B, Kummel S, Schem C, Neidhardt G, Huober J, Rhiem K, Costa S, Altmuller J, Hanusch C, Thiele H, Muller V, Nurnberg P, Karn T, Nekljudova V, Untch M, von Minckwitz G, Schmutzler RK. Germline Mutation Status, Pathological Complete Response, and Disease-Free Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Secondary Analysis of the GeparSixto Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2017 Oct 1;3(10):1378-1385. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.1007.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: August 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 17, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 31, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): September 1, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 15, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2016
• Last Verified: February 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: German Breast Group; GBG Forschungs GmbH; GBG; neo-adjuvant; HER-2 positive breast cancer; Tubular breast cancer stage II; Mucinous breast cancer stage II; Invasive ductal breast cancer; Tubular breast cancer stage III; Inflammatory breast cancer; Inflammatory breast cancer stage IV
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Skin Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Adenocarcinoma; Carcinoma; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Breast Diseases; Neoplasms, Ductal, Lobular, and Medullary; Carcinoma, Ductal; Breast Neoplasms; Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Enzyme Inhibitors; Antineoplastic Agents; Tubulin Modulators; Antimitotic Agents; Mitosis Modulators; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Carboplatin; Paclitaxel; Lapatinib
• Other Study ID Numbers: GBG 66; 2011-000553-23 (EudraCT Number)