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RecruitingNCT04332588Updated Aug 17, 2026

Monitoring HER2+ Breast Cancer Neoadjuvant Treatment With Advanced PET/MRI

A Phase 1 interventional study of [18F]FMISO PET/MRI imaging in HER2-positive Breast Cancer, sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-17.

Sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham · Phase 1, Interventional, and Diagnostic

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Mar 2022; still recruiting 4 years 6 months later.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
25
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

The purpose of the study is to see if using an investigational drug called [18F]FMISO with PET/MRI imaging can help monitor and predict the effect of trastuzumab (Herceptin) on chemotherapy in patients diagnosed with advanced HER2 positive breast cancer. This study is for imaging purposes only and is not a treatment study. The results of this study will not change a patient's clinical treatment plan but it may help physicians and researchers better understand how best to treat patients with breast cancer in the future.

Read the detailed description

There are 2 groups or cohorts in this study. The cohort patient's are in is based on their clinical treatment plan set by your physician. The number of imaging visits and timing of visits will be determined by what cohort they are in.

If the patient is in cohort #1, they will make 4 visits to UAB. They will be scheduled for a pre-study or screening visit. During the pre-study visit, once consented, they will have a blood draw to determine kidney function, and a pregnancy test if they are a woman of childbearing potential. Their vital signs will be taken, they will be asked to fill out an MRI questionnaire, and they will have a PET/MRI fit test. If eligible for the study, they will be scheduled for the first PET imaging visit which will occur before they start chemotherapy. During this PET imaging visit, they will have a pregnancy test if they are a woman of childbearing potential. A plastic catheter will be placed into a vein in their arm and they will then be positioned in the PET/MRI scanner. Once positioned, they will be injected with the investigational radioactive drug, [18F]FMISO. They will then be imaged for up to 90 minutes during which time they will receive an FDA approved contrast agent called Prohance (gadoteridol). Once all the procedures are complete, the catheter will be removed and they may resume all normal activities. The patient will receive a follow-up phone call within 24-48 hours of your injection to be sure they are not experiencing any adverse events. Their second imaging visit will be scheduled after they receive therapy with Herceptin alone and within 10 days before their first cycle of combination therapy including Herceptin. During the second PET imaging visit, the same procedures will be followed as were performed during your first PET imaging visit. They will receive a follow-up phone call within 24-48 hours of your injection to be sure you are not experiencing any adverse events. Their third PET imaging visit will be scheduled after their first cycle of combination therapy including Herceptin and within 10 days before starting their second cycle of combination therapy including Herceptin. During the third PET imaging visit, the same procedures will be followed as were performed during their first and second PET imaging visits. The patient will receive a follow-up phone call within 24-48 hours of their injection to be sure they are not experiencing any adverse events.

If the patients are in cohort #2, they will make 3 visits to UAB. The patients will be scheduled for a pre-study or screening visit. During the pre-study visit, once consented, they will have a blood draw to determine kidney function, and a pregnancy test if they are a woman of childbearing potential. Their vital signs will be taken, they will be asked to fill out an MRI questionnaire, and they will have a PET/MRI fit test. If eligible for the study, they will be scheduled for the first PET imaging visit which will occur before they start chemotherapy. During this visit, they will have a pregnancy test if they are a woman of childbearing potential. A plastic catheter will be placed into a vein in their arm and they will then be positioned in the PET/MRI scanner. Once positioned, the patient will be injected with the investigational radioactive drug, [18F]FMISO. They will then be imaged for up to 90 minutes during which time they will receive an FDA approved contrast agent called Prohance (gadoteridol). Once all the procedures are complete, the catheter will be removed and the patient may resume all normal activities. They will receive a follow-up phone call within 24-48 hours of your injection to be sure they are not experiencing any adverse events. Your second PET imaging visit will be scheduled after your first cycle of combination therapy including Herceptin and within 10 days before starting the second cycle of combination therapy including Herceptin. During the third PET imaging visit, the same procedures will be followed as were performed during the first PET imaging visits. The patient will receive a follow-up phone call within 24-48 hours of your injection to be sure they are not experiencing any adverse events.

We will follow the patients every 6 months for 5 years by reviewing their medical records to see how they are doing.

02

Conditions studied

  • HER2-positive Breast Cancer
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University of Alabama at Birmingham is the lead sponsor of 1,396 studies on the registry; 284 are open to participants now.

Of its 156 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 124 (79%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Patients must be ≥ 18 years old and ≤ 75 years old
  2. HER2+ breast cancer determined on primary tumor by a local pathology laboratory and defined as IHC score 3+ and/or positive by ISH (defined by ISH ratio of ≥ 2.0 for the number of HER2 gene copies to the number of chromosome 17 copies). Only one positive result is required for eligibility
  3. Locally advanced stage II-III HER2+ breast cancer patients eligible for neoadjuvant therapy who are naïve to beginning treatment
  4. Estimated life expectancy of greater than one year
  5. Patients must have one lesion with RECIST measurable disease (great than 1 cm in diameter)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Inability to provide informed consent F
  2. Weight over 350 lbs., due to the scanner bore size
  3. Lactating, known or suspected pregnancy. Women with child-bearing potential must a have a negative serum β-hCG pregnancy test within 48 hours or a negative urine β-hCG pregnancy test within 48 hours of each PET imaging study.
  4. Contraindication for MRI study (e.g. non-removable metal implants or certain tattoos)
  5. Unable to lie still on the imaging table for one (1) hour
  6. contraindication for gadolinium-based contrast agent, ProHance (gadoteridol)
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
25 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Herceptin monotherapy cohort

    Herceptin monotherapy cohort. Locally advanced HER2+ breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant Herceptin monotherapy prior to combination therapy will undergo three contrast-enhanced \[18F\]FMISO PET/MRI scans. Each imaging session will be identical. Imaging session one will be after diagnosis and before beginning monotherapy. Imaging session two will be within 10 days prior to beginning combination therapy with targeted HER2 agents. Imaging session three will be within 10 days prior to beginning the second round of combination therapy with targeted HER2 agents.

    Drug: [18F]FMISO PET/MRI imaging

  • Experimental
    Combination therapy cohort

    Locally advanced HER2+ breast cancer patients that receiving neoadjuvant combination therapy including Herceptin will undergo two contrast-enhanced \[18F\]FMISO PET/MRI imaging. Imaging session one will be after diagnosis and before beginning combination therapy. Imaging session two will be within 10 days prior to beginning the second round of combination therapy with targeted HER2 agents.

    Drug: [18F]FMISO PET/MRI imaging

Interventions

  • Drug[18F]FMISO PET/MRI imaging

    \[18F\]FMISO PET/MRI imaging

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Baseline measure of PET standardized uptake value (SUV).

    Compare baseline metrics from PET/MRI

    Time frame: Baseline

  2. Baseline measure of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in mm2/sec from MRI.

    Compare baseline metrics from PET/MRI

    Time frame: Baseline

  3. Baseline measure of signal enhancement ratio (SER) from MRI.

    Compare baseline metrics from PET/MRI

    Time frame: Baseline

  4. Changes in SER from MRI

    Compare percent change of SER from imaging visit 3 to the baseline.

    Time frame: Baseline through 6 months

  5. Changes in ADC from MRI

    Compare percent change of ADC (mm2/sec) from imaging visit 3 to the baseline.

    Time frame: Baseline through 6 months

  6. Changes in SUV from PET

    Compare percent change of SUV from imaging visit 3 to the baseline.

    Time frame: Baseline through 6 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Follow-up

    Compare changes in imaging metrics to neoadjuvant response (defined as pathological complete response, near-pathological response, residual disease).

    Time frame: Baseline through 5 years

  2. Follow-up

    Compare changes in imaging metrics to clinical response (defined as disease free-survival or recurrence).

    Time frame: Baseline through 5 years

  3. Changes in ADC (mm2/sec) from MRI.

    Compare percent change from imaging visit 2 to the baseline.

    Time frame: Baseline through 2 months

  4. Changes in SER from MRI.

    Compare percent change from imaging visit 2 to the baseline.

    Time frame: Baseline through 2 months

  5. Changes in SUV from PET.

    Compare percent change from imaging visit 2 to the baseline.

    Time frame: Baseline through 2 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • The University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, Alabama 35249, United States
    Recruiting
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 17, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04332588
Lead sponsor
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Responsible party
Anna G. Sorace (Associate Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham) — Principal investigator
First posted
Apr 2, 2020
Start date
Mar 25, 2022
Primary completion
Aug 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 17, 2026

Study contacts

Anna Sorace, PhD
Contact
asorace@uabmc.edu
205-934-3116
Sebastian Eady
Contact
smeady@uabmc.edu
2059962636
Jonathan McConathy, MD, PhD
principal investigator · University of Alabama at Birmingham

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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