Neoadjuvant Therapy With Herceptin and Taxol for Breast Cancer

Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2

Conditions: Breast Cancer

Treatments: Drug: Cytoxan; Drug: Herceptin; Drug: Taxol; Drug: Adriamycin

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Industry

Identifiers

NCT00136539

98-222

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness and safety of administering Herceptin in combination with Taxol (paclitaxel) in the treatment of women with HER2-positive, early stage breast cancer prior to surgery.

Full description

Patients will receive Herceptin intravenously once weekly for 12 weeks, and Taxol intravenously every 3 weeks (week 1, week 4, week 7 and week 10).

After 12 weeks of treatment, breast surgery will be performed (either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy).

Once patients have recovered from the surgery, they will receive adriamycin and cytoxan every 3 weeks for 4 cycles (12 weeks total).

After Herceptin and Taxol therapy, tumor assessment will be performed along with an echocardiogram and mammogram.

At the time of surgery, re-assessment of the tumor will be done.

Blood work will be performed on day one of each chemotherapy cycle.

Enrollment: 41 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients must have Stage II or III histologically diagnosed breast cancer
• Primary invasive breast cancers that overexpress the HER2/neu oncogene
• Age older than 18 years
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of < 1
• White blood cell (WBC) > 4000/mm3
• Platelet count > 100,000/mm3
• Bilirubin < 1 x upper limit of normal (ULN)
• SGOT < 1 x ULN
• Creatinine < 1.5mg/dl
• Normal cardiac function and electrocardiogram (EKG) showing absence of ischemic changes or ventricular hypertrophy

Exclusion criteria

• Excisional biopsy, sentinel node dissection or axillary node dissection.
• Prior history of breast cancer unless: diagnosed at least 2 years ago, present cancer is not in a previously irradiated breast, no prior therapy with anthracycline or taxane, no prior high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell or bone marrow transplant.
• Pregnant or breast-feeding women
• Uncontrolled infection
• Active or severe cardiovascular or pulmonary disease
• Peripheral neuropathy of any etiology that exceeds grade 1
• Prior history of malignancy treated without curative intent
• Uncontrolled diabetes

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)