A Phase 2 interventional study of Acolbifene Hydrochloride and Biospecimen Collection in Breast Atypical Hyperplasia, Breast Carcinoma and Breast Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI). Recruiting at 4 sites in United States. Open to female participants aged 35 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-07.
Sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI) · Phase 2, Interventional, and Prevention
This phase IIA trial compares the effect of acolbifene versus low dose tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer in premenopausal women at high risk for developing breast cancer. The usual approach for patients at increased risk for breast cancer is to undergo yearly breast magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound in addition to yearly mammogram. Premenopausal women at very high lifetime risk for breast cancer (greater than 50%) can consider preventive removal (mastectomy) of both breasts. Premenopausal women age 35 or older with a prior diagnosis of atypical hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ, or an estimated 10-year risk of greater than or equal to 3% or estimated 10-year risk of greater than or equal to 2-5 times that of the average woman (depending on age) may be advised to consider five years of standard dose tamoxifen. Standard dose tamoxifen is four times the dose used in this study. Estrogen can cause the development and growth of breast cancer cells. Acolbifene and tamoxifen blocks the use of estrogen by breast cells. This study may help researchers measure the effects of acolbifene and low dose tamoxifen on markers of breast cancer risk in mammogram imaging, breast tissue, and in blood samples.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
I. To determine if there is a difference in change in expression of the endocrine resistance gene anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) in benign breast tissue of premenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer randomized to acolbifene 20 mg versus (vs) tamoxifen 5 mg orally daily for 6 months.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To determine if there is significant within-arm effect of 6 months of acolbifene 20 mg or tamoxifen 5 mg as assessed on the Estrogen Response Gene Index (ERGI) in benign breast tissue.
II. To determine if there is significant within-arm effect of 6 months of acolbifene 20 mg or tamoxifen 5 mg on mammographic density as measured by change in fibroglandular volume (FGV) and mammographic percent dense volume.
III. To determine if there is a significant within-arm effect of 6 months of acolbifene 20 mg or tamoxifen 5 mg on Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) or Hot Flash Score.
EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:
I. Assess within arm change in breast epithelial cell protein expression of Ki-67 in specimens with >= 2% baseline Ki-67.
II. Assess within arm change in bioavailable serum estradiol, testosterone, progesterone.
III. Association of baseline anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) (>= 1 ng/ml associated with normal ovarian reserve) with 6-month serum estradiol and change in tissue estrogen responsive gene expression (ERGI and AGR2).
IV. Association of tamoxifen and acolbifene parent drug and active metabolite levels with change in tissue estrogen response genes and mammographic density.
V. Assess within arm change of AGR2, Forkhead box protein A1 (FOXA1), estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) proteins on residual fixed specimens acquired by random periareolar fine needle aspiration (RPFNA) and processed to blocks.
VI. Assess within arm change in metabolic measures including triglycerides, measures of insulin sensitivity and thyroid binding globulin (Kansas University Medical Center [KUMC] participants only).
OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 groups.
GROUP I: Patients receive acolbifene orally (PO) once daily (QD) for 6 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo three-dimensional (3D) mammography and collection of blood samples during screening and at the end of acolbifene treatment. In addition, patients undergo RPFNA during screening and on day 1-10 of their menstrual cycle, or if not menstruating, at the convenience of the patient and study staff.
GROUP II: Patients receive tamoxifen PO QD for 6 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo 3D mammography and collection of blood samples during screening and at the end of tamoxifen treatment. In addition, patients undergo RPFNA during screening and day 1-10 of their menstrual cycle, or if not menstruating, at the convenience of the patient and study staff.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up between 21-35 days.
12,544 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Neoplasms; 2,892 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 80 is above the median of 72 across 9,303 interventional studies indexed under Breast Neoplasms.
Browse Breast Neoplasms studies →National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the lead sponsor of 3,506 studies on the registry; 334 are open to participants now.
Of its 402 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 365 (91%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Women of child-bearing potential capacity who are heterosexually active must be willing to have used effective birth control precautions for 8 weeks prior to fine needle aspiration and be willing to continue for 8 weeks after study completion as tamoxifen may have teratogenic effects on the developing fetus. Reproductive and developmental toxicity studies have not been conducted with acolbifene. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she must stop study drug and inform her study physician immediately.
For women who are heterosexually active not using oral contraceptive (progestin alone or estrogen plus a progestin), two of the following are recommended but woman must agree to at least one of the following methods:
For women who are heterosexually active using oral contraceptive (progestin alone or estrogen plus a progestin), woman must agree to at least a non- hormonal IUD or a barrier method (below) or her partner must have had a vasectomy:
Must have increased breast cancer risk as predicted by any one or more of the conditions listed below or increased model calculated risk as below:
Any one or more of the following conditions associated with increased risk (condition must be documented in electronic medical record or copy of relevant pathology or genetic testing reports submitted with the eligibility checklist)
Alternatively, instead of conditions listed above, an increased risk of breast cancer as calculated by International Breast Cancer Intervention Study Version 8 (IBIS 8), or Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) 3 by one or more of the following criteria:
Increase in age specific 10-year relative risk by age group
Exclusion Criteria:
Patients receive acolbifene PO QD for 6 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo 3D mammography and collection of blood samples during screening and at the end of acolbifene treatment. In addition, patients undergo RPFNA during screening and during day 1-10 of their menstrual cycle, or if not menstruating, at the convenience of the patient and study staff.
Drug: Acolbifene Hydrochloride · Procedure: Biospecimen Collection · Other: Questionnaire Administration · Procedure: Random Periareolar Fine-Needle Aspiration
Patients receive tamoxifen PO QD for 6 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo 3D mammography and collection of blood samples during screening and at the end of tamoxifen treatment. In addition, patients undergo RPFNA during screening and day 1-10 of their menstrual cycle, or if not menstruating, at the convenience of the patient and study staff.
Procedure: Biospecimen Collection · Procedure: Mammography · Other: Questionnaire Administration · Procedure: Random Periareolar Fine-Needle Aspiration · Drug: Tamoxifen
Given PO
Undergo collection of blood
Also known as: Biological Sample Collection, Biospecimen Collected, Sample Collection, Specimen Collection
Undergo 3D mammography
Also known as: MG
Ancillary studies
Undergo RPFNA
Also known as: Random Periareolar Fine Needle Aspiration, RPFNA
Given PO
Also known as: TMX
Change in the relative abundance of the specific sequence of messenger ribonucleic acid that codes for AGR2
Will be assessed in benign breast tissue acquired by random periareolar fine-needle aspiration. Change over the intervention period is expressed as the ratio of the relative abundance values (6-month value: baseline value) and then this fold change value is log transformed (base 2) for analysis. For this variable, values of zero indicate no change in the relative abundance of AGR2; positive values indicate an increase in the relative abundance; and negative values a decrease in the relative abundance.
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 months
Change in Estrogen Response Gene Index (ERGI)
The genes assayed for this index are: ESR1, ESR2, GREB1, progesterone receptor (PGR), and TFF1. The log2-transformed values of the ratio of relative abundance (6-month value: baseline value) for GREB1, PGR, TFF1, and the ratio of ESR1:ESR2 are averaged to produce the ERGI. In cases where a specific gene or ratio cannot be evaluated for change over time, it is omitted from the average.
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 months
Relative change in mammographic absolute fibroglandular volume
Will be assessed via the completely automated Volpara™ software program. This will be performed from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine image files analyzed on a Research Server to which the Volpara™ algorithm has been loaded. The Volpara™ score card with volumetric assessments will be automatically generated. Alternatively, a Volpara Data Manager (VDM) program running the same algorithm may be used to generate an Excel file which stores at least all variables provided by the Score Card. The volumetric measures may be less susceptible to technical variance (such as compression) than area of density. Will evaluate absolute change and relative change between baseline and 6-month assessments.
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 months
Relative change in mammographic percentage (%) dense volume
Will be assessed via the completely automated Volpara™ software program. This will be performed from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine image files analyzed on a Research Server to which the Volpara™ algorithm has been loaded. The Volpara™ score card with volumetric assessments will be automatically generated. Alternatively, a VDM program running the same algorithm may be used to generate an Excel file which stores at least all variables provided by the Score Card. The volumetric measures may be less susceptible to technical variance (such as compression) than area of density. Will evaluate absolute change and relative change between baseline and 6-month assessments.
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 months
Change in Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL)
The responses to the 32 questions (will ask about symptoms over prior week) are clustered into four domains (vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, sexual). Worsening of problems (higher scores) over the course of the intervention will assessed by average scores for each of the four individual domains as well as the total MENQOL score.
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 months
Change in Hot Flash Score
The Hot Flash Score uses the product of the average number of hot flash/night sweat episodes per day and the average intensity (0= N/A, not experienced; 1= Mild; 2= Moderate; 3= Severe; 4= Very Severe).
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 months
Plan to share: Yes — NCI is committed to sharing data in accordance with NIH policy. For more details on how clinical trial data is shared, access the link to the NIH data sharing policy page.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
No contact was published for this record. The registry link below has the sponsor’s details.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions 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.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)