A Phase 2 interventional study of Control diet (ARM A) or Fasting-Like Approach (FLA, ARM B) in Breast Cancer, Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Dietary Exposure, sponsored by Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano. Recruiting at 1 site in Italy. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-05-18.
Sponsored by Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment
Italian, multicenter, open-label, two-arm, comparative, randomized phase II study investigating if the addition of the experimental metabolic intervention consisting in cycles of Fasting-Like Approach, as administered every three weeks up to a maximum of 8 consecutive cycles, is able to increase the anticancer activity of standard preoperative chemo-immunotherapy in patients with localized invasive Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
TNBC is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer. TNBC patients who achieve pCR during neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy have significantly lower rates of disease recurrence or death. Preclinical studies indicate that combining nutrient starvation, in the form of cycles of FLA, with anthracycline- or platinum-based chemotherapy remarkably increases the therapeutic index of chemotherapy against murine and human models of breast cancer, including models of TNBC. In particular, the chemotherapy-fasting/FLA combination increases the anticancer activity of chemotherapy, while reducing treatment-related adverse events (AEs). Moreover, the FLA has demonstrated potent and desirable immunomodulatory effects both in in vivo studies and in patients with cancer, and the activation of antitumor immunity is a crucial mediator of the anticancer effects of the FLA, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Therefore, there is a strong biological rationale to combine cyclic FLA with ICIs in cancer therapy.
Based on these data, we hypothesize that combining the FLA with standard-of-care, preoperative, anthracycline-taxane-carboplatin chemotherapy plus Pembrolizumab can increase the rate of pCR in a population of patients with stage II-III TNBC.
This is an Italian, multicenter, open-label, two-arm, comparative, randomized phase II study. This study is designed to investigate if the addition if the experimental metabolic intervention consisting in cycles of FLA, as administered every three weeks up to a maximum of 8 consecutive cycles, is able to increase the anticancer activity of standard preoperative chemo-immunotherapy consisting of antracycline-taxane-carboplatin-based chemotherapy plus pembrolizumab in patients with treatment naïve, localized (tumor stage T1c AND nodal stage N1-2, or tumor stage T2-4 AND nodal stage N0-2) invasive Triple Negative Breast Cancer (HER2 negative, ER \<1%, PgR \<1%). Bilateral and/or multifocal primary tumor is allowed, as well as inflammatory breast cancer, and the tumor with the most advanced T stage should be used to assess the eligibility. If multi-focal/multi-centric disease, TNBC needs to be confirmed for each focus. The primary study endpoint is pathologic complete response (pCR).
Patients will be randomly allocated to one of the following treatment arms:
Enrolled patients will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio and stratified according to a) disease stage: stage II (T1N1, T2N0, T2N1, T3N0) vs. stage III (T3N1; any T4; any N2); b) patient body mass index (BMI ≥25 kg/m2 vs \<25 kg/m2).
After completion of the experimental preoperative protocol, patients will undergo surgery between 14 and 28 days after the last chemotherapy administration.
After surgery, patients will receive 9 additional triweekly pembrolizumab administration at the same dosage, and regardless of the pathologic tumor response (pCR yes vs. no). After surgery, patients may receive local radiotherapy, depending on the pathological stage and according to local and international guidelines.
12,544 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Neoplasms; 2,892 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 145 is above the median of 72 across 9,303 interventional studies indexed under Breast Neoplasms.
Browse Breast Neoplasms studies →Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano is the lead sponsor of 169 studies on the registry; 48 are open to participants now.
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Presence of adequate bone marrow and organ function as defined by the following laboratory values:
Female patients are not of childbearing potential if they meet at least one of the following criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Anamnesis of clinically significant heart disease including:
12 consecutive cycles of weekly paclitaxel plus carboplatin (PCb) combined with 4 triweekly cycles of Pembrolizumab, followed by 4 consecutive cycles of triweekly anthracycline (doxorubicin or epirubicin)-cyclophosphamide (AC or EC) chemotherapy combined with 4 triweekly cycles of Pembrolizumab.
Dietary Supplement: Control diet (ARM A) or Fasting-Like Approach (FLA, ARM B)
Standard treatment (12 consecutive cycles of weekly paclitaxel plus carboplatin (PCb) combined with 4 triweekly cycles of Pembrolizumab, followed by 4 consecutive cycles of triweekly anthracycline (doxorubicin or epirubicin)-cyclophosphamide (AC or EC) chemotherapy combined with 4 triweekly cycles of Pembrolizumab) in combination with up to a maximum of 8 consecutive triweekly cycles of 5-day Fasting-Like Approach
Dietary Supplement: Control diet (ARM A) or Fasting-Like Approach (FLA, ARM B)
Each FLA cycle will consist of 5 consecutive days of a specific FLA scheme, which will be repeated with a three-week interval. The FLA will consist of a plant-based, low-calorie (about 600 Kcal on day 1; about 300 Kcal on day 2 to 5), low-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. The first FLA cycle will start two days prior to the day of first chemo-immunotherapy cycle administration and will continue for two more days after chemotherapy. In the absence of significant contraindications or severe adverse events, subsequent FLA cycles will recur with three-week intervals and will maintain the same timing with respect to chemo-immunotherapy administration.
Rate of Pathologic complete response (pCR)
Absence of residual tumor cells in both breast tissue and axillary lymph nodes (ypT0/ypTis ypN0)
Time frame: Surgical specimen (at the time of surgery)
Disease free survival (DFS)
Time from surgery to tumor recurrence, either local or distant, or patient death from any cause, assessed up to 36 months
Time frame: Time from surgery to tumor recurrence or patient death, assessed up to 36 months
Event-free survival (EFS)
Time from the date of randomization to the first documentation of progressive disease, or patient death from any cause, assessed up to 36 months
Time frame: From the date of randomization to the first documentation of progressive disease or patient death, assessed up to 36 months
Distant metastasis free survival (DMFS)
Time from surgery to the occurrence of distant metastases or patient death from any cause, assessed up to 36 months
Time frame: From surgery to the occurrence of distant metastases or patient death, assessed up to 36 months
Overall Survival (OS)
Time from randomization to the date of death (patients alive at the time of data cut-off and analysis will be censored at their last contact date), assessed up to 60 months
Time frame: Time from randomization to the date of death, assessed up to 60 months
Compliance (Dose-intensity)
Dose of effective drug administrated per unit of time (e.g., mg/m2/week)
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Compliance (Drug dose/time modifications)
Percentage of patients with drug dose and/or time modifications
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Compliance (Dietary regimen modifications)
Percentage of patients with experimental dietary regimen modifications
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Compliance (Withdrawals)
Percentage of premature withdrawals
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Safety (AE)
Incidence, nature, severity and seriousness of AEs, according of NCI-CTCAE, version 5.0
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Safety (Maximum toxicity grade)
Maximum toxicity grade experienced by each patient for each specific toxicity
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Safety (G3-G4 AEs)
Percentage of patients experiencing grade 3-4 toxicity for each specific toxicity
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Safety (SAE)
Patients with at least a SAE
Time frame: From the start to the end of the neoadjuvant treatment (about 6 months)
Translational (DNA repair, metabolic, autophagy and immunologic parameters effect on pCR)
Role of key DNA repair, metabolic, autophagy and immunologic pathways in the efficacy of the experimental treatments, defined as the rate of pCR
Time frame: Surgical specimen (at the time of surgery)
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Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano