A Trial Using ctDNA Blood Tests to Detect Cancer Cells After Standard Treatment to Trigger Additional Treatment in Early Stage Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patients (c-TRAK-TN)

c-TRAK TN: A Randomised Trial Utilising ctDNA Mutation Tracking to Detect Minimal Residual Disease and Trigger Intervention in Patients With Moderate and High Risk Early Stage Triple Negative Breast Cancer

c-TRAK TN is a multi-centre phase II study, consisting of a circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) surveillance component and a therapeutic component. c-TRAK TN aims to assess whether ctDNA surveillance can be used to detect residual disease following patients standard primary treatment for triple negative breast cancer, and will assess the safety and activity of the investigational medicinal product pembrolizumab.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Triple Negative Breast Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Pembrolizumab

Detailed Description

During the randomised component of the trial (prior to implementation of protocol v6.0 on 16 Sept 2020), patients would undergo serial ctDNA surveillance every 3 months from the point of registration and completion of primary treatment for their triple negative breast cancer. ctDNA surveillance was blinded and the detection of a ctDNA positive result on or before the 12 month ctDNA surveillance assessment triggered randomisation to treatment with pembrolizumab or observation (on a 2:1 ratio). The patient and their treating team were only informed of the randomisation if allocated treatment.

Patients without a positive ctDNA result within 12 months of starting ctDNA surveillance, continued to have blinded ctDNA surveillance every 3 months up to 2 years total.

Following the implementation of protocol v6.0 (16 Sept 2020), patients were asked to transfer to the non-randomised component of the trial, all patients who were previously randomised to observation and remain in active ctDNA surveillance would transition to the non-randomised component of the trial following re-consent, and allocated pembrolizumab at the next positive ctDNA result.

All patients will be followed up every 6 months until disease recurrence, specific withdrawal of consent for follow up, or until sponsor advises no further follow up is required.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 208
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Bournemouth, United Kingdom
    • Royal Bournemouth Hospital
  • Cardiff, United Kingdom
    • Velindre Cancer Centre
  • Edinburgh, United Kingdom
    • Western General Hospital
  • Glasgow, United Kingdom
    • Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
  • London, United Kingdom, SE1 9RT
    • Guy's Hospital
  • London, United Kingdom
    • Charing Cross Hospital
  • London, United Kingdom
    • St Bartholomew's Hospital
  • London, United Kingdom
    • University College London Hopitals
  • Maidstone, United Kingdom, ME16 9QQ
    • Maidstone Hospital
  • Manchester, United Kingdom
    • The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
  • Nottingham, United Kingdom
    • Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Oxford, United Kingdom
    • Churchill Hospital
  • Sheffield, United Kingdom
    • Weston Park Hospital
  • Truro, United Kingdom
    • Royal Cornwall Hospital
  • Wirral, United Kingdom
    • Clatterbridge Cancer Centre
  • London
    • Chelsea, London, United Kingdom, SW3 6JJ
      • Royal Marsden Hospital, Chelsea
  • Surrey
    • Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom, SM2 5PT
      • Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Signed Informed Consent Form for Registration.
2. Male or female patients ages 16 years or older.
3. ECOG performance status 0, 1 or 2.
4. Histologically proven primary triple negative breast cancer as defined as oestrogen receptor (ER) negative, progesterone receptor (PgR) negative (if available, otherwise PgR unknown), (as defined by Allred score 0/8 or 2/8 or stain in <1% of cancer cells) and HER2 negative (immunohistochemistry 0/1+ or negative by in situ hybridization) as determined by local laboratory.
5. Availability of tissue from two archival tumour tissue samples (either from diagnostic biopsy and/or primary surgery). If only one tumour sample is available, the site should inform the ICR-CTSU who will discuss eligibility with the Chief Investigator (or designated TMG member). Patients who have tumours previously sequenced outside the c-TRAK TN trial must provide one archival tumour tissue sample and the report that confirms the mutations detected.

6. Patients with moderate or high risk early stage triple negative breast cancer according to the following risk of relapse criteria:

   Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (no adjuvant chemotherapy planned) High risk criteria - Residual microscopic or macroscopic invasive cancer in the axillary nodes after chemotherapy Moderate risk criteria - Residual invasive cancer in the breast, and axillary lymph node negative after chemotherapy Adjuvant chemotherapy High risk criteria - Tumour size >50mm and node positive OR ≥4 nodes positive regardless of primary tumour size.

   Moderate risk criteria - Tumour size >20mm AND/OR involved axillary macroscopic lymph node.

   Both neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy Patients who have received both neoadjuvant chemotherapy and further adjuvant chemotherapy must fulfil only the adjuvant chemotherapy risk criteria to be eligible. They can fulfil the criteria on either clinical staging prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy or pathological staging at surgery.

7. Patients must be registered according to the following criteria for timing of registration:

   Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (no adjuvant chemotherapy planned):

   Patients must be registered within 6 weeks of surgery. Patients may be registered before or during radiotherapy and should be registered as early as possible.

   Adjuvant chemotherapy (no neoadjuvant chemotherapy received):

   Patients must be registered before, or on the day of, the 3rd cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy and should be registered as early as possible.

   Both neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy Patients must be registered within 6 weeks of surgery. Patients may be registered before or during radiotherapy. Patients must register before starting capecitabine.

8. Consent to provide research blood samples.
9. Patients with bilateral tumours can be included if both are triple negative and if two archival tissues samples can be provided per tumour.
10. Patients must have had surgery achieving clear margins (as per local guidelines).
11. Female and male patients of reproductive potential must be willing to use an adequate method of contraception for the first year of the trial and, if allocated to pembrolizumab, for the duration of treatment through to 120 days after the last dose of pembrolizumab (see appendix 2). Note: Abstinence is acceptable if this is the usual lifestyle and preferred contraception for the patient.
12. Patients must be willing to have frequent blood tests (every 3 months for 2 years in ctDNA surveillance and 3 weekly if subsequently allocated pembrolizumab) and receive a 12 month course of pembrolizumab on ctDNA detection.
13. No evidence of distant metastatic disease or local recurrence on staging scans conducted at any time since initial diagnosis.

NB: Additional eligibility criteria apply to confirm eligibility to commence pembrolizumab treatment following randomisation.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Any concurrent or planned treatment for the current diagnosis of breast cancer other than surgery, loco regional adjuvant radiotherapy, standard neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy, or a bisphosphonate/denosumab.
2. Prior treatment with a PDL1, PD1, or other immunomodulatory therapy.
3. Prior diagnosis of cancer (including prior diagnosis of breast cancer) in the previous 5 years, other than for basal cell carcinoma of the skin or cervical carcinoma in situ.
4. Patients previously entered into a therapeutic trial during or after neoadjuvant chemotherapy where experimental therapy is continued post-surgery (see protocol section 15).
5. Treatment with an unlicensed or investigational product within 4 weeks of trial entry.
6. Active autoimmune disease requiring systemic therapy in the last two years (i.e. with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs). Replacement therapy (e.g. thyroxine, insulin or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency) is not considered a form of such systemic treatment.
7. Diagnosis of immunodeficiency or receiving systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of pembrolizumab.
8. Known history of active Tuberculosis Bacillus (TB).
9. Known history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
10. Known active Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C.
11. Known history of, or any evidence of active, non-infectious pneumonitis.
12. Active infection requiring systemic therapy.
13. Previous solid organ or allogenic stem cell transplantation.
14. Females who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
15. Presence of any systemic illness incompatible with participation in the clinical trial or inability to provide written informed consent.
16. A pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

NB. Additional exclusion criteria apply to confirm eligibility to commence pembrolizumab treatment following randomisation.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Observation; Patient will have blood samples collected for ctDNA analysis every 3 months for up to 2 years from starting ctDNA screening.
Experimental: Pembrolizumab Treatment; Patients will be given pembrolizumab every 3 weeks for up to a maximum of 12 months, with blood samples collected prior to each cycle for continued ctDNA analysis. Following treatment discontinuation, blood samples will be collected for ctDNA analysis every 3 months for a further 12 months.	Drug: Pembrolizumab; 200mg intravenous infusion; Other Names: Keytruda

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Positive ctDNA detection by 12 months	The proportion of patients with ctDNA positivity by 12 months as assessed by the blood sample taken at that timepoint	12 months
Positive ctDNA detection by 24 months	The proportion of patients with ctDNA positivity by 24 months as assessed by the blood sample taken at that timepoint	24 months
Absence of detectable ctDNA or disease recurrence 6 months (24 weeks) after commencing pembrolizumab	The proportion of patients without either detectable ctDNA or disease recurrence 6 months (24 weeks) after starting pembrolizumab	6 months (24 weeks) after commencing pembrolizumab

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to ctDNA detection	The time from entry into ctDNA surveillance to first positive ctDNA detection	Baseline to first ctDNA positivity (up to a maximum of 12 months after starting ctDNA surveillance)
Detection of overt metastatic disease at time of first ctDNA detection in patients allocated to pembrolizumab	Proportion of patients with metastatic disease at the same time point as first positive ctDNA detection	Baseline to first ctDNA positivity (up to a maximum of 12 months after starting ctDNA surveillance)
Lead time between ctDNA detection and disease recurrence in the pembrolizumab treatment and observation groups	The time between randomisation to the therapeutic aspect of the trial (either to pembrolizumab treatment or observation group) and first confirmed detection of recurrent disease.	From date of randomisation to recurrence detection, expected to occur up to 5 years
Absence of detectable ctDNA or disease recurrence after 6 months in the observation group	Proportion of patients without detectable ctDNA or disease recurrence 6 months after randomisation to observation group	6 months after randomisation
Safety and tolerability of pembrolizumab assessed using NCI CTCAE v4.0, and the proportion of patients reporting dose reductions or delays.	Adverse events assessed throughout treatment period, using the NCI CTCAE v4.0. Proportion of patients reporting a dose reduction or delay will be presented.	Throughout pembrolizumab treatment, up to 12 months of treatment
Commencement of treatment in patients randomised to receive pembrolizumab	Proportion of patients randomised to receive pembrolizumab who start the therapy.	At point of commencement or non-commencement of treatment, up to 8 weeks following randomisation

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Descriptive differences in time between ctDNA detection and disease recurrence, and disease free survival, between patients in the pembrolizumab and the observation groups	Time from first positive ctDNA detection to disease recurrence or disease-free survival event.	Time between first ctDNA detection and documented recurrence or disease free survival event, whichever comes first, expected to occur up to 5 years
To explore predictors of sustained ctDNA clearance on pembrolizumab.	The relationship between sustained clearance of ctDNA on pembrolizumab and biological markers will be summarised and investigated using logistic regression.	6-12 months after commencing pembrolizumab
To explore potential predictors of relapse and ctDNA detection, and alternative definitions of ctDNA clearance	Relationship between lead time and clinical/biological factors will be assessed using standard statistical techniques for time to event data.	Baseline to point of disease recurrence, expected to occur up to 5 years
Association between ctDNA clearance and time to recurrence in pembrolizumab group	Relationship between ctDNA clearance and time to recurrence in the pembrolizumab group will be assessed using standard statistical techniques for time to event data.	Time of ctDNA clearance to time of recurrence, expected to occur up to 5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Institute of Cancer Research, United Kingdom
• Collaborators: Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC; National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at the Royal Marsden / Institute of Cancer Research UK
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nick Turner, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 21, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2021
• Study Completion (Anticipated): March 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 28, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): May 9, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 24, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 8, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: targeted therapy; phase II; pembrolizumab; randomised clinical trial; circulating tumour DNA; Breast cancer early stage; mutation screening; intermediate endpoint
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Skin Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Breast Diseases; Breast Neoplasms; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Pembrolizumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: ICR-CTSU/2016/10058; 2017-000508-92 (EudraCT Number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Undecided
• IPD Plan Description: Formal requests for data sharing will be considered in line with ICR-CTSU procedure with due regard given to funder and sponsor guidelines. Requests are via a standard pro forma describing the nature of the proposed research and extent of data requirements. Data recipients are required to sign a data release form which describes the conditions for release and requirements for data transfer, storage, archiving, publication and Intellectual Property.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No