Study of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Survivors

A Multicenter Phase II Study of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) in Patients With a History of Breast Cancer, Premalignant Lesions, or Benign Breast Disease

This randomized phase II trial studies how well docosahexaenoic acid works in preventing recurrence in breast cancer survivors. Docosahexaenoic acid supplement may prevent recurrence in breast cancer survivors.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stage IIIA Breast Cancer; Stage IIIB Breast Cancer; Invasive Breast Carcinoma; Stage IA Breast Cancer; Stage IB Breast Cancer; Stage IIA Breast Cancer; Stage IIB Breast Cancer; Stage IIIC Breast Cancer; Lobular Breast Carcinoma In Situ; Ductal Breast Carcinoma In Situ; Paget Disease of the Breast; Benign Breast Neoplasm
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Placebo; Drug: Docosahexaenoic Acid

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine whether treatment with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for 12 weeks at 1000 mg twice daily as compared to placebo reduces normal breast tissue levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in overweight and obese patients with a history of stage I-III invasive breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), Paget's disease, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), or proliferative benign breast disease.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To investigate the effect of DHA at 1000 mg twice daily on tissue biomarkers

• Change from the baseline in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)/interleukin-1-beta (IL-1beta)/aromatase measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
• Change from the baseline in crown-like structures of the breast (CLS-B) measured by immunohistochemical techniques for cluster of differentiation (CD)68.
• Change from baseline in CLS-B index determined as follows: ([number of slides with evidence of at least one CLS-B]/[total number of slides examined]).
• Change from baseline in CLS-B/cm^2 defined as the number of CLS-B/cm^2. II. Evaluate age as a predictor of CLS-B and inflammatory biomarkers (TNF-alpha/COX-2/IL-1beta) at baseline and over the time of treatment.

III. Evaluate red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid level as a surrogate of compliance.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive docosahexaenoic acid orally (PO) twice daily (BID) for 12 weeks.

ARM II: Patients receive placebo PO BID for 12 weeks.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 65
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10065
      • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University/Herbert Irving Cancer Center
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • MD Anderson Cancer Center

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:

• Participants must have a history of histologically-confirmed stage I-III invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), Paget's disease, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), or proliferative benign breast disease
• No evidence of disease (in situ or invasive cancer that would normally be treated by resection) at trial entry as determined by the investigator
• >= 6 months from all previous breast cancer treatment (including surgery for invasive cancer, chest wall radiotherapy, chemotherapy, trastuzumab and endocrine therapy)
• Participants must have a body mass index (BMI) >= 25, defined as (weight in kilograms/[height in meters]^2)
• Participants must have adequate accessible breast tissue as determined by the treating physician, consisting of one breast unaffected by invasive cancer, which has not been radiated; a history of prior pre-invasive breast cancer or benign biopsy of this breast will be permitted
• Daily DHA consumption =< 200 mg/day in the month prior to screening estimated by an abbreviated DHA food frequency questionnaire
• Mammogram within no more than 6 months prior to the date of informed consent (normal/benign Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System [BI-RADS] 1 or 2) and no further routine breast imaging planned during the course of the study (12 weeks DHA/placebo)
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status must be =< 2 (Karnofsky >= 60%)
• Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/uL
• Platelets >= 75,000/uL
• White blood cells >= 3,000/uL
• Hemoglobin >= 10 g/dL
• Total bilirubin within 1.5 times the institution's upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) within 1.5 times the institution's ULN
• Serum creatinine within 1.5 times the institution's ULN
• Pregnant women will be excluded; for women of childbearing potential; negative pregnancy testing within 72 hours prior to or on study visit #1 (day 0) and willingness to use adequate contraception during the study intervention OR post-menopausal defined as any one of the following 1) prior hysterectomy, 2) absence of menstrual period for 1 year in the absence of prior chemotherapy or 3) absence of menstrual period for 2 years in women with a prior history of chemotherapy exposure who were pre-menopausal prior to chemotherapy
• Willingness to comply with all study interventions and follow-up procedures including the ability to swallow the study drug
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any type of active invasive cancer (excluding breast and non-melanoma skin cancer) within the preceding 18 months
• A history of histologically-confirmed bilateral invasive breast cancer
• Bilateral mastectomy
• Prior history or evidence of metastatic breast cancer
• Prior radiation therapy to the contralateral (unaffected) breast
• Prior history of contralateral (unaffected) breast augmentation with breast implant placement
• History of daily use of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the week preceding study entry
• History of DHA supplementation > 200 mg/day in the month preceding study entry
• History of autoimmune disorder or any illness that requires therapy with chronic steroids or immunomodulators
• History of therapeutic doses of anticoagulants including warfarin and low molecular weight heparin (e.g. for prior deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) in the preceding year
• Participants may not be receiving any other investigational agents during the study
• Women who have received cancer surgery, chemotherapy, biological therapy (e.g., trastuzumab), or radiotherapy for the treatment of any cancer within 6 months of study participation
• Women who are receiving endocrine therapy for breast cancer treatment or chemoprevention including tamoxifen, letrozole, anastrozole, fulvestrant, or exemestane at the time of screening
• Individuals with severe underlying chronic illness, such as uncontrolled diabetes; ongoing or active infection, psychiatric illness or social situations which in the opinion of the investigator would interfere with study participation
• History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to DHA or corn/soy oil in placebo agent
• Pregnant, breastfeeding, or women of childbearing potential unwilling to use a reliable contraceptive method

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm I (Docosahexaenoic Acid); Docosahexaenoic Acid orally twice a day (PO BID) for 12 weeks.	Drug: Docosahexaenoic Acid; Given PO; Other Names: Fatty Acid 22:6
Placebo Comparator: Arm II (placebo); Placebo orally twice a day (PO BID) for 12 weeks.	Other: Placebo; Given PO; Other Names: placebo therapy; PLCB; sham therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Normal Breast Tissue Expression of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-alpha) Levels	Differences in normal breast tissue levels of TNF-α 12 weeks post-treatment relative to pre-treatment for active treatment and placebo arm, compared using analysis of covariance where the post-treatment measurements were used as a dependent variable and the pretreatment measurements were included as a covariate in the analysis. For the primary study end-point TNF-α levels will be measured by quantitative real-time PCR (mRNA essays) on extracted RNA from breast core biopsies. Relative expression determined using the Computed Tomography (ΔΔCT) analysis protocol.	Baseline to 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With Crown-like Structures of the Breast (CLS-B) at Baseline and Post-treatment	An indicator of whether a subject is detected with CLS-B or not.	Baseline to 12 weeks
Absolute Change in CLS-B/cm^2 Adjusted for the Pre-treatment Measurements	To assess the severity of CLS-B using the following formula: number of CLS-B/cm^2. The absolute change in the CLS-B/cm^2 calculated according to the formula; Change in CLS-B/cm^2 = (post-treatment CLS-B/cm^2) - (pre-treatment CLS-B/cm^2).	Baseline to 12 weeks
Breast Tissue Cox 2 mRNA Levels at Baseline and 12 Weeks	Biomarkers COX-2 are measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Differences between active treatment and placebo arm for each biomarker will be compared using analysis of covariance where the post treatment measurements will be used as a dependent variable and the pretreatment measurements will be included as a covariate in the analysis.	Baseline to 12 weeks
Mean Difference in the Breast Tissue IL- Beta mRNA Levels of Tissue Biomarkers	Biomarkers IL-1Beta are measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Differences between active treatment and placebo arm for each biomarker will be compared using analysis of covariance where the post treatment measurements will be used as a dependent variable and the pretreatment measurements will be included as a covariate in the analysis.	Baseline to 12 weeks
Mean Difference in the Breast Tissue Aromatase mRNA Levels of Tissue Biomarkers	Biomarkers Aromatase are measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Differences between active treatment and placebo arm for each biomarker will be compared using analysis of covariance where the post treatment measurements will be used as a dependent variable and the pretreatment measurements will be included as a covariate in the analysis.	Baseline and 12 weeks
Red Blood Cell (RBC) Fatty Acid Level as a Surrogate of Compliance	Whole blood samples collected for red blood cell fatty acid analyses at baseline and week 12 (+ 2 weeks). RBC fatty acid composition analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection.	Baseline and week 12

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ayca Gucalp, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Study Chair: Powel H. Brown, MD, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 11, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): April 22, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 6, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): May 8, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 28, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 3, 2021
• Last Verified: December 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Skin Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Adenocarcinoma; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Neoplasms, Ductal, Lobular, and Medullary; Carcinoma, Ductal; Carcinoma in Situ; Breast Neoplasms; Carcinoma; Breast Carcinoma In Situ; Breast Diseases; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating; Carcinoma, Lobular; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast; Paget's Disease, Mammary
• Other Study ID Numbers: NCI-2013-00859 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); P30CA016672 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); N01-CN-2012-00034 (CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); N01CN00034 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); N01CN35159 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); 12-474; 12-267; DFCI:12- 474 (Other Identifier: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI)); AAAK6752; MSKCC-12-267 (Other Identifier: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC)); H-33017; CUMC: AAAK6752; 2011-0766 (Other Identifier: MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDA or MDACC)); MDA10-16-01 (Other Identifier: DCP)