ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT01099436NEO-ZOTACUpdated Jan 21, 2020

Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy (TAC) With or Without Zoledronic Acid in Treating HER2-negative Breast Cancer Patients

A Phase 3 interventional study of cyclophosphamide and docetaxel in Breast Cancer, sponsored by Borstkanker Onderzoek Groep. Completed at 1 site in Netherlands. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 120 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-01-21.

Sponsored by Borstkanker Onderzoek Groep · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
250
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 120 Years
Sex
Female
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-12

Among 59 studies testing Zoledronic Acid in Breast Neoplasms — none open to participants now, 2 under way, 1 of them phase 3. Zoledronic Acid · Breast Neoplasms.

Enrollment
19th of 56
250 · median 98
Started
2010
with 2 others
Phase 3
24 of 59
none open now
Registered
46th of 59
by date
Lead sponsor
1 of 59
Borstkanker Onderzoek Groep

Among the 59 studies testing Zoledronic Acid in Breast Neoplasms, this one is the 19th largest by enrollment of the 56 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 3 that started in 2010, is one of 24 in phase 3, and was the 46th registered.

Breast Neoplasms

14,825 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Neoplasms; 3,319 are open to participants now.

Browse Breast Neoplasms studies →

Open to participants now

None of the 59 studies testing Zoledronic Acid in Breast Neoplasms is open now.

About Zoledronic Acid

Zoledronic Acid: first FDA approval 2001 (ZOMETA), first EMA approval 2001. What it is approved for, and how studies give it, is on its page →

Who these studies take

Of the 2,400 Breast Neoplasms studies recruiting now, 1,572 (66%) set no upper age limit and 591 (25%) stop at 75 or younger; 103 take children under 18; 214 take healthy volunteers.

This study: 18 Years to 120 Years · female · no healthy volunteers.

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This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.

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Download CSVNarrow it in search →With an account: the 59 studies testing Zoledronic Acid in Breast Neoplasms as a file.
02

Study summary

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin hydrochloride, cyclophosphamide, docetaxel, and zoledronic acid, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether combination chemotherapy is more effective when given together with zoledronic acid in treating patients with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving doxorubicin hydrochloride together with cyclophosphamide and docetaxel to see how well it works with or without zoledronic acid in treating patients with large resectable or locally advanced breast cancer.

Read the detailed description

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

  • To determine the value of neoadjuvant chemotherapy comprising doxorubicin hydrochloride, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel with or without zoledronic acid in patients with HER2-negative large resectable or locally advanced breast cancer.

Secondary

  • To correlate clinical response with pathological responses in both treatment arms.
  • To evaluate the disease-free survival and overall survival of patients treated with this regimen.
  • To evaluate the safety and tolerability of adding zoledronic acid to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
  • To evaluate heterogeneity of the ER/PR and HER2 measurement in core biopsy and the surgical specimen.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized between 2 treatment arms.

  • Arm I: Patients receive doxorubicin hydrochloride IV, cyclophosphamide IV, and docetaxel IV on day 1. Patients also receive zoledronic acid IV over 15 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
  • Arm II: Patients receive doxorubicin hydrochloride IV, cyclophosphamide IV, and docetaxel IV as in arm I. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
03

Conditions studied

  • Breast Cancer

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Keywords

  • HER2-negative breast cancer
  • stage II breast cancer
  • stage IIIA breast cancer
  • stage IIIB breast cancer
  • stage IIIC breast cancer
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 120 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

  • confirmed breast cancer

    • Large resectable or locally advanced disease

      • T2 (≥ 2 cm and positive lymph nodes), T2 (≥ 3 cm), ≥ T3, T4, any N, M0 disease
  • (breast and/or lymph nodes)
  • -negative disease by core
  • No evidence of distant (M1)
  • No prior breast cancer

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

  • Female
  • Menopausal status unspecified
  • 0-2
  • Not pregnant or nursing
  • WBC ≥ 3.0 x 10\^9/L
  • ≥ 1.5 x 10\^9/L
  • count ≥ 100 x 10\^9/L
  • ≤ 1.5 times (UNL)
  • and/or AST ≤ 2.5 times UNL
  • Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 5 times UNL
  • ≥ 50 mL/min
  • Accessible for treatment and follow-up
  • No previous within the past 5 years except basal cell carcinoma of the skin or pre-invasive carcinoma of the cervix
  • No peripheral neuropathy > grade 2 (of any cause)
  • No other serious diseases including recent myocardial infarction, clinical signs of cardiac failure, or arrhythmias
  • No poor dental health
  • No known reaction to any of the components of the treatment
  • No medical or psychological condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would not permit the patient to complete the study or sign meaningful

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

  • No prior breast surgery except for biopsy
  • No prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy
  • No prior bisphosphonates
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(16)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

Measurable disease

The amount of disease can be tracked with a defined measurement, so the study can see whether it shrinks or grows. It might be a tumour measured on a scan or, in some blood cancers such as myeloma, a marker measured in blood or urine.

The criteria or the study team say which measurement counts — having no tumour visible on a scan does not by itself rule you out.

HER2

HER2 is a protein, made from the ERBB2 gene, that drives the growth of some cancers. A study may look for a level of the protein, extra copies of the gene, or a particular change in it.

In breast cancer, protein tests are read as HER2-positive, HER2-low or HER2-negative; other cancers use their own rules. Check which test result the study requires.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
250 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    TAC + Zoledronic acid

    six cycles of docetaxel (Taxotere®), Adriamycin® (endoxan) and Cyclofosfamide (TAC) and zoledronic acid (Zometa)

    Drug: cyclophosphamide · Drug: docetaxel · Drug: doxorubicin hydrochloride · Drug: zoledronic acid · Procedure: neoadjuvant therapy

  • Active comparator
    TAC

    six cycles of docetaxel (Taxotere®), Adriamycin® (endoxan) and Cyclofosfamide (TAC)

    Drug: cyclophosphamide · Drug: docetaxel · Drug: doxorubicin hydrochloride · Procedure: neoadjuvant therapy

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without zoledronic

    Time frame: after surgery

Secondary outcomes

  1. Correlation of clinical response with pathological responses of both treatment arms

    Time frame: after surgery

  2. Disease-free survival

    Time frame: 3 and 5 years

  3. Overall survival

    Time frame: 3 and 5 years

  4. Safety and tolerability

    Time frame: during treatment

  5. Heterogeneity of the ER/PR and HER2 measurement in core biopsy and the surgical specimen

    Time frame: at surgery

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Leiden University Medical Center
    Leiden, 2300 RC, Netherlands
08

References and documents

Publications

  • de Groot S, Pijl H, Charehbili A, van de Ven S, Smit VTHBM, Meershoek-Klein Kranenbarg E, Heijns JB, van Warmerdam LJC, Kessels LW, Dercksen MW, Pepels MJAE, van Laarhoven HWM, Vriens BEPJ, Putter H, Fiocco M, Liefers GJ, van der Hoeven JJM, Nortier JWR, Kroep JR; Dutch Breast Cancer Research Group. Addition of zoledronic acid to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is not beneficial in patients with HER2-negative stage II/III breast cancer: 5-year survival analysis of the NEOZOTAC trial (BOOG 2010-01). Breast Cancer Res. 2019 Aug 28;21(1):97. doi: 10.1186/s13058-019-1180-6. PubMed 31455425 ↗
  • de Groot S, Charehbili A, van Laarhoven HW, Mooyaart AL, Dekker-Ensink NG, van de Ven S, Janssen LG, Swen JJ, Smit VT, Heijns JB, Kessels LW, van der Straaten T, Bohringer S, Gelderblom H, van der Hoeven JJ, Guchelaar HJ, Pijl H, Kroep JR; Dutch Breast Cancer Research Group. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor expression and IGF1R 3129G > T polymorphism are associated with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients: results from the NEOZOTAC trial (BOOG 2010-01). Breast Cancer Res. 2016 Jan 6;18(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s13058-015-0663-3. PubMed 26738606 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Apr 2010, a primary completion of Apr 2012 and a completion of Sep 2013. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 6, 2010
First posted
Apr 7, 2010
Start
Apr 2010
Primary completionActual
Apr 2012
CompletionActual
Sep 2013
Last update
Jan 21, 2020
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 21, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01099436
Lead sponsor
Borstkanker Onderzoek Groep
Collaborators
Dutch Cancer Society, Amgen, Sanofi, Novartis
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 7, 2010
Start date
Apr 2010
Primary completion
Apr 2012
Completion
Sep 2013
Last update
Jan 21, 2020

Study contacts

Judith Kroep, MD
principal investigator · Leiden University Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Zoledronic Acid

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