To Reduce the Use of Chemotherapy in Postmenopausal Patients With ER-positive and HER2-positive Breast Cancer (TOUCH)

Breast Cancer Clinical Trial

— TOUCH  

Official title:

Phase II Open-label, Multicentre, Randomized Trial of Neoadjuvant Palbociclib in Combination With Hormonal Therapy and HER2 Blockade Versus Paclitaxel in Combination With HER2 Blockade for Postmenopausal Patients With Hormone Receptor Positive/HER2 Positive Early Breast Cancer

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03644186
• Other study ID #: IBCSG 55-17
• Secondary ID: 2017-005067-40
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: April 16, 2019
• Est. completion date: April 14, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: July 2023
• Source: ETOP IBCSG Partners Foundation
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This is a phase II open-label, multicentre, randomized trial. The study assesses the treatment of postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor positive/HER2 positive early breast cancer with neoadjuvant palbociclib in combination with hormonal therapy and HER2 blockade, versus the treatment with paclitaxel in combination with HER2 blockade.

Description:

TOUCH is an open label, international, phase II neoadjuvant trial which will assess the treatment of elderly patients with hormone receptor positive / human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) positive early breast cancer with neoadjuvant palbociclib in combination with hormonal therapy and HER2 blockade, versus the treatment with paclitaxel in combination with HER2 blockade.

The neo-adjuvant setting was chosen to evaluate these therapy combinations in a short time-frame and to provide access to biomaterial both at baseline and after the end of the treatment, at surgery. Biopsy specimens will be analyzed at the end of the trial by gene-expression profiling to assess RBsig status. This marker may represent a tool to identify the participants who are more likely to benefit from a chemotherapy-free regimen in this population.

Palbociclib is a potent, highly selective, reversible, orally active, inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK 4/6), therefore inhibiting cell growth and can be safely and effectively administered to older patients without need for dose adjustment based solely on age. Treatment de-escalation, namely harnessing and taking maximum advantage of targeted therapies vs conventional treatment (chemotherapy) in order to limit side effects, is particularly appealing in the older population.

Clinical data from the HR positive /HER2 negative setting show that combinations of palbociclib and letrozole are safe and effective. These combinations have not yet been tested in the HR positive /HER2 positive population that the investigators include in this trial. However, combinations of trastuzumab and endocrine treatment (ET), including letrozole have shown to be safe and to have some additional activity compared to ET alone in the HR positive /HER2 positive population. Therefore, the role of palbociclib in addition to letrozole and trastuzumab plus pertuzumab needs to be further studied.

Current standard of care for treatment of HER2 positive BC incorporates chemotherapy and anti-HER2 agents, with chemotherapy regimens of sequential anthracyclines and taxanes, used as single agents or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs. Trastuzumab is often administered concurrently with a single agent taxane to avoid the possible additive cardiac toxicity of combinations of anthracycline containing regimens and trastuzumab.

A regimen of weekly paclitaxel and trastuzumab plus pertuzumab was chosen as the comparator arm in this trial. More aggressive chemotherapy may not be justified in this population and trial participants may receive additional treatment after surgery, at the discretion of the treating doctor.

Preclinical and clinical rationale exists to support the proposal that palbociclib may represent a valuable option for increasing the activity of ET and anti-HER2 agents, such that a triple combination with these agents could prove superior to a standard treatment with chemotherapy and anti-HER2 agents.

The investigators hypothesize that the combination of palbociclib, letrozole and trastuzumab plus pertuzumab proposed in this trial will be more efficacious compared to the combinations of anti-HER2 agents and ET reported in other trials.

In 2019, it is estimated that of 260,600 newly diagnosed cases of invasive breast cancer in the United States, 82% occurred in women aged 50 or over. Furthermore, of the 41,760 breast cancer-related deaths in the same year, 90% occurred in this predominantly post-menopausal age group. Around 40% of BCs occur in women aged 65 and older. Of these, 10-15% have tumors that overexpress HER2. Elderly patients are generally underrepresented in clinical trials and may benefit from anti-HER2 agents as much as the younger population. Post-menopausal patients with HR positive /HER2 positive BC represent a unique group of patients with an unmet clinical need. This population is the focus of the TOUCH trial.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 144
• Est. completion date: April 14, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: January 3, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer, with the following characteristics:

• Early breast cancer with tumor size >1 cm (as measured by at least one of the required examination methods of clinical examination, mammography and ultrasonography);

• No clinical evidence of regional lymph node metastasis (via physical and/or radiological exam) (cN0) OR

• Clinical evidence of cN1 status, defined by nodal involvement limited to clinically or radiologically detectable metastasis to movable ipsilateral level I, II axillary lymph node(s)

• No evidence of metastasis (M0).

2. Postmenopausal, defined by women with:

• Prior bilateral surgical oophorectomy; OR

• Amenorrhea and age =60 years; OR

• Age <60 years and amenorrhea for 12 or more consecutive months in the absence of alternative pathological or physiological cause (including chemotherapy, tamoxifen, toremifene, ovarian suppression, or hormonally-based contraception) plus FSH and serum estradiol levels within the laboratory's reference ranges for postmenopausal women

3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1

4. Primary tumor must have positive estrogen receptor (ER) =10%

5. Primary tumor must be HER2-positive (by IHC and/or ISH)

6. Baseline LVEF =55% measured by Echocardiography (preferred) or MUGA scan

7. Normal hematologic status:

• Absolute neutrophil count =1500/mm3 (1.5 × 109/L);

• Platelets =100 × 109/L;

• Hemoglobin =9 g/dL (=90 g/L).

8. Normal renal function: serum creatinine =1.5 ULN

9. Normal liver function:

• Serum total bilirubin =1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN). In the case of known Gilbert's syndrome, a higher serum total bilirubin (<2 × ULN) is allowed;

• AST or ALT =2.5 × ULN;

• Alkaline phosphatase =2.5 × ULN.

10. Written Informed Consent (IC) must be signed and dated by the patient and the Investigator prior to randomization.

11. The patient has been informed of and agrees to data transfer and handling, in accordance with national data protection guidelines.

12. The patient agrees in writing to make tumor (mandatory diagnostic core biopsy and surgical specimen) available for submission for central pathology review and to conduct translational studies as part of this protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Tumor of any size with direct extension to the chest wall and/or to the skin (ulceration or skin nodules) (T4 according to AJCC 8th edition cancer staging TNM)

2. Inflammatory breast cancer

3. Bilateral invasive breast cancer

4. Received any prior treatment for primary invasive breast cancer

5. Any active tumor of non-breast-cancer histology

6. Any of the following in the previous 6 months: myocardial infarction, severe/unstable angina pectoris, ongoing cardiac dysrhythmias of NCI CTCAE grade =2, atrial fibrillation of any grade, coronary/peripheral artery bypass graft, symptomatic congestive heart failure (NYHA functional classification =II), cerebrovascular accident including transient ischemic attack, or symptomatic pulmonary embolism.

7. Concurrent disease or condition that would make the subject inappropriate for study participation or any serious medical disorder that would interfere with the subject's safety

8. Contraindications or known hypersensitivity to any of the trial medications or excipients

9. Treatment with any investigational agents within 30 days prior to expected start of trial treatment

10. Any GI disorder that may affect absorption of oral medications, such as malabsorption syndrome or status post major bowel resection

11. Evidence via physical and/or radiological exam of cN2 or cN3 nodal involvement defined by: metastasis to ipsilateral level I, II axillary lymph nodes that are clinically fixed or matted, OR involvement of ipsilateral infraclavicular, internal mammary and/or supraclavicular lymph node(s)

12. History of extensive disseminated/bilateral or known presence of interstitial fibrosis or interstitial lung disease, including a history of pneumonitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, interstitial pneumonia, obliterative bronchiolitis, and pulmonary fibrosis. A history of prior radiation pneumonitis is not considered an exclusion criterion.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Breast Cancer
• Breast Neoplasms
• Estrogen Receptor Positive Tumor
• HER2-positive Breast Cancer

Intervention

Drug:
• Paclitaxel
Chemotherapy plus HER2 Blockade
• Trastuzumab
Chemotherapy plus HER2 Blockade
• Pertuzumab
Chemotherapy plus HER2 Blockade
• Palbociclib
CDK Inhibition plus Hormonal Therapy plus HER2 Blockade
• Letrozole
CDK Inhibition plus Hormonal Therapy plus HER2 Blockade
• Trastuzumab
CDK Inhibition plus Hormonal Therapy plus HER2 Blockade
• Pertuzumab
CDK Inhibition plus Hormonal Therapy plus HER2 Blockade

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Belgium	AZ Klina, Augustijinslei 100	Brasschaat
Belgium	Jules Bordet Institute	Brussels
Belgium	CHR de la Citadelle, Boulevard du XIIe de Ligne, 1	Liège
Belgium	Clinique Saint- Joseph, Rue de Hesbaye 75	Liège
Belgium	Clinique Saint Elizabeth, Place Louise Godin 15	Namur
Belgium	AZ Nikolaas, Moerlandstrat 1	Sint-Niklaas
France	Institut Sainte Catherine	Avignon
France	Institut Bergonié	Bordeaux
France	Centre Hospitalier Le Mans	Le Mans
France	Centre Léon Berard	Lyon
France	ICM Val d'Aurelle	Montpellier
France	Institut de Cancérologie de l'Ouest (ICO)	Nantes
France	Centre Antoine Lacassagne	Nice
France	Groupe Hospitalier Diaconesses Croix Saint Simon	Paris
France	Institut Curie - Site de Paris	Paris
France	Centre Hospitalier Annecy Genevois	Pringy
France	Centre Eugène Marquis	Rennes
France	Centre Henri Becquerel	Rouen
France	Institut Curie - Site Saint Cloud	Saint-Cloud
France	Clinique Pasteur	Toulouse
France	Institut Claudius Regaud	Toulouse
Italy	ASO "SS Antonio e Biagio Cesare Arrigo, Via Venezia 16	Alessandria
Italy	Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO), Via Franco Gallini 2	Aviano	Pordenone
Italy	Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo, A.O.Papa Giovanni XXIII, Piazza OMS1	Bergamo
Italy	Ospedale S. Orsola-Malpighi, Viale Ercolani 4/2	Bologna
Italy	Comprensorio Sanitario Bolzano, Via Lorenz Bohler, 5	Bolzano
Italy	ASST Spedali Civili Brescia, Piazzale Spedali Civili n.1	Brescia
Italy	U.O Medicina Oncologica Ospedale di Carpi, Via G. Molinari, 2	Carpi	Modena
Italy	E.O. Ospedali Galliera, Mura delle Cappuccine, 14	Genova
Italy	Ospedale Policlinico San Martino,Largo Rosanna Benzi,10	Genova
Italy	Ospedale Civile di Lecco,Via della Filanda 14	Lecco
Italy	Istituto scientifico Romagnolo per lo studio e la cura,Via Piero Maroncelli 40	Meldola	Forli
Italy	Milano, IEO, Via Ripamonti 435	Milano
Italy	Università del Piemonte Orientale - SCDU Oncologia, Corso Mazzini 18	Novara
Italy	Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma, via Gramsci 14	Parma
Italy	Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA-SB,Via Salvatore Maugeri N° 10	Pavia
Italy	A.O. Universitaria Pisana Ospedale Santa Chiara Pisa, Via Roma 67	Pisa
Italy	Hospital of Prato, Via Dolce dei Mazzamuti, 7	Prato
Italy	Santa Maria delle Croci Hospital, Viale Randi 5	Ravenna
Italy	UO Oncologia, Rimini Hospital, Via Settembrini 2	Rimini
Italy	Clinica Oncologica-Ospedali Riuniti Ancona, Via Conca n.71,	Torrette	Ancona
Italy	Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Udine, Piazzale S.M. Misericordia 15	Udine
Italy	AO Universitaria Ospedale Di Circolo e Fondazione,v.le L. Borri, 57	Varese
Switzerland	Kantonsspital Baden AG	Baden	Aarau
Switzerland	Universitatsspital Basel, Petersgraben 4	Basel	Basel-Stadt
Switzerland	Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI), Ospedale San Giovanni, IOSI	Bellinzona	Ticino
Switzerland	Inselspital Bern	Bern
Switzerland	Brustzentrum Thurgau / Kantonsspital Frauenfeld, Pfaffenholzstrasse 4	Frauenfeld	Thurgau
Switzerland	HFR Freiburg - Kantonsspital	Freiburg
Switzerland	University Hospital Geneva	Geneva
Switzerland	Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 95	Saint Gallen
Switzerland	Kantonsspital Winterthur	Winterthur	Zürich
Switzerland	Brust-Zentrum AG, Seefeldstrasse 214	Zurich
Switzerland	University Hospital Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 10	Zürich	Zurich

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
ETOP IBCSG Partners Foundation	Hoffmann-La Roche, Pfizer

Countries where clinical trial is conducted

Belgium,  France,  Italy,  Switzerland, 

References & Publications (14)

Biganzoli L, Aapro M, Loibl S, Wildiers H, Brain E. Taxanes in the treatment of breast cancer: Have we better defined their role in older patients? A position paper from a SIOG Task Force. Cancer Treat Rev. 2016 Feb;43:19-26. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2015.11.009. Epub 2015 Dec 15. — View Citation

Biganzoli L, Wildiers H, Oakman C, Marotti L, Loibl S, Kunkler I, Reed M, Ciatto S, Voogd AC, Brain E, Cutuli B, Terret C, Gosney M, Aapro M, Audisio R. Management of elderly patients with breast cancer: updated recommendations of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA). Lancet Oncol. 2012 Apr;13(4):e148-60. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70383-7. Epub 2012 Mar 30. — View Citation

Cancer Genome Atlas Network. Comprehensive molecular portraits of human breast tumours. Nature. 2012 Oct 4;490(7418):61-70. doi: 10.1038/nature11412. Epub 2012 Sep 23. — View Citation

Cristofanilli M, Turner NC, Bondarenko I, Ro J, Im SA, Masuda N, Colleoni M, DeMichele A, Loi S, Verma S, Iwata H, Harbeck N, Zhang K, Theall KP, Jiang Y, Bartlett CH, Koehler M, Slamon D. Fulvestrant plus palbociclib versus fulvestrant plus placebo for treatment of hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer that progressed on previous endocrine therapy (PALOMA-3): final analysis of the multicentre, double-blind, phase 3 randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2016 Apr;17(4):425-439. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00613-0. Epub 2016 Mar 3. Erratum In: Lancet Oncol. 2016 Apr;17 (4):e136. Lancet Oncol. 2016 Jul;17 (7):e270. — View Citation

Demidenko E. Sample size and optimal design for logistic regression with binary interaction. Stat Med. 2008 Jan 15;27(1):36-46. doi: 10.1002/sim.2980. — View Citation

Finn RS, Dering J, Conklin D, Kalous O, Cohen DJ, Desai AJ, Ginther C, Atefi M, Chen I, Fowst C, Los G, Slamon DJ. PD 0332991, a selective cyclin D kinase 4/6 inhibitor, preferentially inhibits proliferation of luminal estrogen receptor-positive human breast cancer cell lines in vitro. Breast Cancer Res. 2009;11(5):R77. doi: 10.1186/bcr2419. — View Citation

Finn RS, Martin M, Rugo HS, Jones S, Im SA, Gelmon K, Harbeck N, Lipatov ON, Walshe JM, Moulder S, Gauthier E, Lu DR, Randolph S, Dieras V, Slamon DJ. Palbociclib and Letrozole in Advanced Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2016 Nov 17;375(20):1925-1936. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1607303. — View Citation

Herschkowitz JI, He X, Fan C, Perou CM. The functional loss of the retinoblastoma tumour suppressor is a common event in basal-like and luminal B breast carcinomas. Breast Cancer Res. 2008;10(5):R75. doi: 10.1186/bcr2142. Epub 2008 Sep 9. — View Citation

Jenkins EO, Deal AM, Anders CK, Prat A, Perou CM, Carey LA, Muss HB. Age-specific changes in intrinsic breast cancer subtypes: a focus on older women. Oncologist. 2014 Oct;19(10):1076-83. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0184. Epub 2014 Aug 20. — View Citation

Johnston S, Pippen J Jr, Pivot X, Lichinitser M, Sadeghi S, Dieras V, Gomez HL, Romieu G, Manikhas A, Kennedy MJ, Press MF, Maltzman J, Florance A, O'Rourke L, Oliva C, Stein S, Pegram M. Lapatinib combined with letrozole versus letrozole and placebo as first-line therapy for postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Nov 20;27(33):5538-46. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2009.23.3734. Epub 2009 Sep 28. — View Citation

Kaufman B, Mackey JR, Clemens MR, Bapsy PP, Vaid A, Wardley A, Tjulandin S, Jahn M, Lehle M, Feyereislova A, Revil C, Jones A. Trastuzumab plus anastrozole versus anastrozole alone for the treatment of postmenopausal women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive, hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer: results from the randomized phase III TAnDEM study. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Nov 20;27(33):5529-37. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2008.20.6847. Epub 2009 Sep 28. — View Citation

Malorni L, Piazza S, Ciani Y, Guarducci C, Bonechi M, Biagioni C, Hart CD, Verardo R, Di Leo A, Migliaccio I. A gene expression signature of retinoblastoma loss-of-function is a predictive biomarker of resistance to palbociclib in breast cancer cell lines and is prognostic in patients with ER positive early breast cancer. Oncotarget. 2016 Sep 13;7(42):68012-68022. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.12010. — View Citation

Miles D, Baselga J, Amadori D, Sunpaweravong P, Semiglazov V, Knott A, Clark E, Ross G, Swain SM. Treatment of older patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel: subgroup analyses from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial (CLEOPATRA). Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2013 Nov;142(1):89-99. doi: 10.1007/s10549-013-2710-z. Epub 2013 Oct 16. — View Citation

Witkiewicz AK, Ertel A, McFalls J, Valsecchi ME, Schwartz G, Knudsen ES. RB-pathway disruption is associated with improved response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2012 Sep 15;18(18):5110-22. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-0903. Epub 2012 Jul 18. — View Citation

* Note: There are 14 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Pathological complete response (pCR)	Defined as absence of invasive tumour cells in the breast and in the axillary lymph nodes at the time of surgery (ypT0/ypTis ypN0) determined from the local histopathologic evaluation according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual. The presence of in situ cancer after trial treatment in the absence of residual invasive disease constitutes a pCR.	Assessed within 30 days of the time of breast surgery after completion of a treatment period of up to 16 weeks. If the patient does not undergo surgery, assessment will occur within 30 days after all treatment is stopped.
Secondary	Pathological complete response (pCR) in the breast	Defined as the absence of invasive tumour cells in the breast at the time of surgery (ypT0/ypTis) determined from the local histopathologic evaluation according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual..	Assessed at the time of breast surgery within 30 days of completion of a treatment period of up to 16 weeks. All patients who are discontinued from treatment for any reason will be documented within 30 days after surgery.
Secondary	Objective response	Defined as the number of patients with partial or complete response measured physically by caliper and by ultrasound and mammography. Response will be assessed using World Health Organisation tumour measurement and response criteria.	Tumour assessments will be performed by ultrasound and mammography at screening (prior to start of treatment), and before surgery. Tumour measurements by caliper will be assessed at the same time points and at the end of cycle 2 (each cycle is 28 days).
Secondary	Frequency of reported adverse events	Defined by frequency of all grades for targeted adverse events, all grade 3 for non-targeted events and grade =2 for non-targeted events requiring medical attention according to CTCAE version 5. For each adverse event, the frequency of patients by worst grade of the adverse event will be summarized and tabulated by treatment.	From the time informed consent is signed, during treatment and until 30 days after surgery. If there is no surgery, adverse events will be collected until 30 days after treatment stops.
Secondary	Rate of breast conserving surgery (BCS)	Defined as the number of patients undergoing BCS, divided by the number of patients in the assessable population (subset of the randomized population with RBsig status successfully determined who received at least 1 dose of medication).	Assessed at 35 months after randomization of the first patient.