Pembrolizumab and Carboplatin in Treating Patients With Circulating Tumor Cells Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

NCT03213041 | Completed Phase 2 Results DMC FDA Drug

• 3 other identifiers: NU 16B14P30CA060553NCI-2017-00330
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 12
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact on progression-free survival (PFS) with the combination carboplatin - pembrolizumab in patients with CTC (circulating tumor cells) positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer previously treated with anthracyclines and taxanes. Previous studies have indicated that recurrent breast cancers are more resistant to chemotherapy and maybe associated with a weak immune system. This study is investigating the use of an immune therapy drug, pembrolizumab, that has the ability to restore the capacity of controlling and killing cancer cells of an important component of your immune system called T-cells. Pembrolizumab has been found effective in other types of cancer and has already been approved by FDA for those indications, but the efficacy in breast cancer is still unknown. In this study, pembrolizumab will be combined with chemotherapy to increase the cancer cell killing. There is no control or placebo treatment in this study.

Conditions

Estrogen Receptor Negative; Estrogen Receptor Positive; HER2/Neu Negative; Progesterone Receptor Negative; Recurrent Breast Carcinoma; Stage IV Breast Cancer; Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Progression Free Survival (PFS)

  PFS will be based on investigator assessment. PFS will be defined as the time from the first study treatment to the first occurrence of progression or death, and will be assessed every 9 weeks after beginning of treatment.

  Every 9 weeks from the first study treatment, assessed up to 3 years

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Overall Survival (OS)

  4 years and 6 months

• Overall Response Rate (ORR)

  Every 9 weeks from the first study treatment, assessed up to 3 years

• Clinical Benefit Rate (CBR)

  Every 9 weeks from the first study treatment, assessed up to 3 years

• Immune-related Response

  Every 9 weeks from the first study treatment, assessed up to 3 years

• Immune-related Clinical Benefit Rate

  Every 9 weeks from the first study treatment, assessed up to 3 years

Study Arms (1)

Treatment (pembrolizumab, carboplatin)

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients receive pembrolizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1 and carboplatin IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1 beginning with course 3. Courses repeat every 21 days for 24 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Drug: Carboplatin; Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Biological: Pembrolizumab

Interventions

Carboplatin DRUG

Given IV

Also known as: Blastocarb, Carboplat, Carboplatin Hexal, Carboplatino, Carbosin, Carbosol, Carbotec, CBDCA, Displata, Ercar, JM-8, Nealorin, Novoplatinum, Paraplatin, Paraplatin AQ, Paraplatine, Platinwas, Ribocarbo

Treatment (pembrolizumab, carboplatin)

Laboratory Biomarker Analysis OTHER

Correlative studies

Treatment (pembrolizumab, carboplatin)

Pembrolizumab BIOLOGICAL

Given IV

Also known as: Keytruda, Lambrolizumab, MK-3475, SCH 900475

Treatment (pembrolizumab, carboplatin)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Patients must be:
• Hormone receptor (HR) negative and HER-2 negative (triple negative breast cancer \[TNBC\]) metastatic breast cancer and have not received prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease
• Demonstrated HER-2 negative MBC (0 or 1+ by immunohistochemistry \[IHC\] or non-amplified by fluorescence in situ hybridization \[FISH\]) according to American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)/College of American Pathologists (CAPA) guidelines
• Patients must be CTC positive (defined as CTCs \>= 5)
• Have measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1
• Be willing to provide archival tissue (if available) for correlative studies
• Note: The archived tumor tissue specimens may be from metastatic tumor specimen (first choice); in alternative, we can consider tissue from prior surgery or from prior diagnostic biopsy (second choice); unavailability of archived tissue will not render subject ineligible for study
• Have a performance status of 0 or 1 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status
• Demonstrate adequate organ function, all screening labs should be performed within 14 days prior to registration
• Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,500 /mcL
• Platelet \>= 100,000 / mcL
• Hemoglobin \>= 9 g/dL or \>= 5.6 mmol/L without transfusion or erythropoietin (EPO) dependency (within 7 days of assessment)
• Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN) OR measured or calculated creatinine clearance (glomerular filtration rate \[GFR\] can also be used in place of creatinine or creatinine clearance \[CrCl\]) \>= 60 mL/min for subject with creatinine levels \> 1.5 X institutional ULN
• Serum total bilirubin =\< 1.5 X ULN OR direct bilirubin =\< ULN for subjects with total bilirubin levels \> 1.5 ULN
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\]) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 2.5 X ULN OR =\< 5 X ULN for subjects with liver metastases

You may not qualify if:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed HER2-positive (3+ by IHC or non-amplified by FISH) according to ASCO/CAP guidelines
• Is currently participating and receiving study therapy or has participated in a study of an investigational agent and received study therapy or used an investigational device \< or equal to 28 days of registration
• Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy =\< 7 days prior to registration
• Has a known history of active TB (bacillus tuberculosis)
• Hypersensitivity to pembrolizumab or any of its excipients
• Has had a prior anti-cancer monoclonal antibody (mAb) within 4 weeks prior to study day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., =\< grade 1 or baseline) from adverse events (AEs) due to agents administered more than 28 days earlier
• Has had prior chemotherapy, targeted small molecule therapy, or radiation therapy within 14 days prior to registration or who has not recovered (i.e., =\< grade 1 or at baseline) from AEs due to a previously administered agent
• Note: Subjects with =\< grade 2 neuropathy are an exception to this criterion and may qualify for the study
• If subject received major surgery, they must have recovered adequately from the toxicity and/or complications from the intervention prior to starting therapy
• Has known additional malignancy that progressed or required treatment within last 5 years; exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer that has been adequately treated
• Has known active central nervous system (CNS) metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis; subjects with previously treated brain metastases may participate provided they are stable (without evidence of progression by imaging for at least 28 days prior to registration and any neurologic symptoms have returned to baseline), have no evidence of new or enlarging brain metastases, and are not using steroids for at least 7 days prior to registration; this exception does not include known carcinomatous meningitis which is excluded regardless of clinical stability
• Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the past 2 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, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment
• Patients who have evidence of active, noninfectious pneumonitis or have a history of severe pneumonitis that required treatment with steroids are not eligible for this study
• Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy
• Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the trial, interfere with the subject?s participation for the full duration of the trial, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northwestern University: lead
• Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC: collaborator
• National Cancer Institute (NCI): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Northwestern University

Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Breast Neoplasms; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms

Interventions

Carboplatin; pembrolizumab

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Breast Diseases; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Coordination Complexes; Organic Chemicals

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Lisa E. Flaum, MD
• Organization: Northwestern University

lflaum@nm.org

312-695-0990

Study Officials

• Massimo Cristofanilli, MD

  Northwestern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 2
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 6, 2017
• First Posted: July 11, 2017
• Study Start: September 14, 2017
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2021
• Study Completion: March 30, 2022
• Last Updated: June 17, 2026
• Results First Posted: June 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2023-05

Locations

US (1)