NCT03515798

Brief Summary

This phase II multicentre randomized open-label study will assess the safety and efficacy of Pembrolizumab in combination with standard chemotherapy in inflammatory breast cancer. Pembrolizumab will be administered every 3 weeks during the neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Tissue and blood samples will be collected pre- and post-treatment for translational research.

Trial Health

75
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
52

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for phase_2

Timeline
15mo left

Started Aug 2018

Longer than P75 for phase_2

Geographic Reach
1 country

12 active sites

Status
active not recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress86%
Aug 2018Aug 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

March 23, 2018

Completed
1 month until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 4, 2018

Completed
4 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

August 29, 2018

Completed
4 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

August 22, 2022

Completed
5 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

August 22, 2027

Expected
Last Updated

September 12, 2025

Status Verified

September 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

4 years

First QC Date

March 23, 2018

Last Update Submit

September 5, 2025

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Central evaluation of pathological complete response rate

    absence of any residual invasive cancer on hematoxylin and eosin evaluation of the resected breast specimen and all sampled ipsilateral lymph nodes following completion of NAST (i.e., ypT0/is, ypN0 in the current AJCC staging system)

    Following completion of neoadjuvant systemic treatment, an average of 24 weeks

  • Dose Limiting Toxicity (DLT) rates

    incidence of DLT during the 21 days following the first administration of pembrolizumab in combination with EC, will be assessed separately in the first 3 patients of each stratum (HR+ and HR-). DLTs will be defined according to CTCAE.

    during 21 days following the first administration of pembrolizumab

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • occurrence of serious adverse events and adverse events starting grade 2 or grade 1 (run-in period)

    during 21 days following the first administration of pembrolizumab

  • Local evaluation of pathological complete response rate

    Following completion of neoadjuvant systemic treatment, an average of 24 weeks

  • Invasive disease-free survival (IDFS)

    3 years

  • Invasive disease-free survival (IDFS)

    5 years

  • Event free survival (EFS)

    3 years

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (4)

  • Evaluation of PD-L1 expression in pre, per and post-treatment tissue

    Following completion of neoadjuvant systemic treatment, an average of 24 weeks

  • Measurement of baseline Circulating tumor cells for prospective validation of their prognostic value in IBC

    Following completion of neoadjuvant systemic treatment, an average of 24 weeks

  • Disease monitoring

    Following completion of neoadjuvant systemic treatment, an average of 24 weeks

  • +1 more other outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Pembrolizumab

EXPERIMENTAL

EC Paclitaxel + Pembrolizumab Injection

Drug: Pembrolizumab InjectionDrug: neoadjuvant EC-paclitaxel chemotherapy

Standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

EC Paclitaxel alone

Drug: neoadjuvant EC-paclitaxel chemotherapy

Interventions

Patients will receive intravenously 1 dose of Pembrolizumab every 3 weeks

Also known as: MK3475
Pembrolizumab

The cytotoxic regimen is a combination of dose-dense EC, followed by weekly paclitaxel

Also known as: Epirubicine, Cyclophosphamide, Paclitaxel
PembrolizumabStandard neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Male/female participants who are at least 18 years of age on the day of signing informed consent
  • Have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 1 Evaluation of ECOG is to be performed within 7 days prior to the date of randomization. Note: may consider ECOG PS 2 if good rationale provided and discussed with Sponsor team.
  • Able to comply with the protocol,
  • Patient affiliated to the national "Social Security" regimen or beneficiary of this regimen, or any other regimen of social security
  • Patient (or legally acceptable representative if applicable) has provided written informed consent for the trial,
  • Previously untreated, histologically confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer and confirmed inflammatory breast cancer defined as follows:
  • \- T4d any N following American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)-8th version classification: breast erythema, edema and/or peau d'orange, occupying at least 1/3 of the breast, with or without underlying palpable mass, duration of history of no more than 6 months.
  • HER2 negative tumors by immunohistochemistry (IHC 0 or 1+) or fluorescent/chromogenic in situ hybridization (FISH- or CISH-)
  • Hormone receptors status known,
  • No metastases,
  • Have adequate organ function. Specimens must be collected within 10 days prior to the start of study treatment.
  • Adequate hematologic function: absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 x 109/L AND platelets ≥ 100 x 109 AND Hb ≥ 9.0 g/dL or ≥5.6 mmol/L, Criteria must be met without erythropoietin dependency and without packed red blood cell (pRBC) transfusion within last 2 weeks.
  • Adequate liver function: total bilirubin ≤1.5 Ă—ULN OR direct bilirubin ≤ULN for participants with total bilirubin levels \>1.5 Ă— ULN AND - ASAT ≤ 2.5 ULN AND ALAT ≤ 2.5 ULN,
  • Adequate kidney function: serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 ULN or creatinine clearance ≥ 30 mL/min for participant with creatinine levels \>1.5 Ă— institutional ULN, Creatinine clearance (CrCl) should be calculated per institutional standard.
  • International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) ≤ 1.5 ULN unless subject is receiving anticoagulant therapy, as long as PT or TCA is within therapeutic range of intended use of the anticoagulants,
  • +6 more criteria

You may not qualify if:

  • Has metastatic breast cancer,
  • Has HER2-positive breast cancer,
  • Has bilateral breast cancer
  • Prior allogeneic stem cell or solid organ transplantation
  • A WOCBP who has a positive serum pregnancy test within 72 hours prior to randomiza-tion
  • Is currently participating in or has participated in a study of an investigational agent or has used an investigational device within 4 weeks prior to the first dose of study treatment, Note: Participants who have entered the follow-up phase of an investigational study may participate as long as it has been 4 weeks after the last dose of the previous investigational agent.
  • Has known active CNS disease or carcinomatous meningitis.
  • Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving systemic steroid therapy (in dosing exceeding 10 mg daily of prednisone equivalent) or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of study drug,
  • Has a known history of active TB (Bacillus Tuberculosis),
  • Has severe hypersensitivity (≥Grade 3) to pembrolizumab and/or any of its excipients,
  • If subject received major surgery, they must have recovered adequately from the toxicity and/or complications from the intervention prior to starting therapy,
  • Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or has required active treatment within the past 3 years. Note: Participants with basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, or carcinoma in situ (e.g. breast carcinoma, cervical cancer in situ) that have undergone potentially curative therapy are not excluded.
  • 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,
  • Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or has current pneumonitis,
  • Has an active infection requiring systemic therapy.
  • +7 more criteria

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (12)

Clinique de L'Europe

Amiens, France

Location

Institut Sainte Catherine

Avignon, France

Location

Institut BERGONIE

Bordeaux, France

Location

CENTRE Francois Baclesse

Caen, France

Location

Centre Georges Francois Leclerc

Dijon, 21079, France

Location

Centre Leon Berard

Lyon, France

Location

Institut Curie

Paris, France

Location

Centre Henri Becquerel

Rouen, France

Location

Institut Curie hopital rene huguenin

Saint-Cloud, France

Location

Institut de cancérologie de la loire

Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, France

Location

Centre Paul Strauss

Strasbourg, France

Location

IUCT-Oncopole Institut Claudius Rigaud

Toulouse, France

Location

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Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms

Interventions

pembrolizumabEpirubicinCyclophosphamidePaclitaxel

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Breast NeoplasmsNeoplasms by SiteNeoplasmsBreast DiseasesSkin DiseasesSkin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

DoxorubicinDaunorubicinAnthracyclinesNaphthacenesPolycyclic Aromatic HydrocarbonsHydrocarbons, AromaticHydrocarbons, CyclicHydrocarbonsOrganic ChemicalsPolycyclic CompoundsAminoglycosidesGlycosidesCarbohydratesPhosphoramide MustardsNitrogen Mustard CompoundsMustard CompoundsHydrocarbons, HalogenatedPhosphoramidesOrganophosphorus CompoundsTaxoidsCyclodecanesCycloparaffinsHydrocarbons, AlicyclicDiterpenesTerpenes

Study Officials

  • Anthony Goncalves, Pr

    Institut Paoli-Calmettes

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 2
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

March 23, 2018

First Posted

May 4, 2018

Study Start

August 29, 2018

Primary Completion

August 22, 2022

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 22, 2027

Last Updated

September 12, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Locations