A Phase 2 interventional study of Sacituzumab Govitecan / Trastuzumab Deruxtecan in Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms, Neoplasm Metastasis and HER 2 Low-expressing Breast Cancer, sponsored by UNICANCER. Not yet recruiting at 2 sites in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-03.
Sponsored by UNICANCER · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment
This is a phase II, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial (patients are randomly assigned to one treatment arm or the other) evaluating two treatment strategies (sacituzumab govitecan and trastuzumab deruxtecan in an alternative schema or sacituzumab govitecan alone) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.
The goal is to answer the question: Does alternating sacituzumab goveitecan (SG) and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) improve survival in patients with HER2-low metastatic triple-negative breast cancer compared to continuing treatment with SG alone?
Patients with locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) have poor survival outcomes
Among mTNBC, about 40% of tumors have a low expression of HER2 (HER2-low; defined as IHC 2+/ISH or IHC 1+). Two antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have been approved for HER2-low mTNBC: sacituzumab govitecan (SG) and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) that target TROP2 and HER2 at the tumor cell surface, respectively. Each of these ADCs, used as monotherapy, outperformed conventional chemotherapy according to the ASCENT and DESTINY-Breast 04 trials and thereby have become the new second or third line standard of care for HER2-low mTNBC. However, as with other types of treatments, resistance is inescapable mostly due to intra-tumor heterogeneity. In the case of ADCs, resistance mechanisms involve changes in tumor antigen expression, ADC intracellular uptake and processing, and efflux of the ADC cytotoxic payload. Consequently, SG and T-DXd are used sequentially after progression even though the most effective sequence has so far been scarcely investigated and remains to be established
The ASCENT trial was designed to compare the efficacy of SG with chemotherapy in patients with mTNBC and reported significantly greater progression-free and overall survival compared with the physician's choice of chemotherapy. On the other hand, the DESTINY-Breast-04 compared the efficacy of T-DXd with chemotherapy but included just 63 patients with HER2-low mTNBC. Despite a significantly longer progression-free and overall survival were observed compared with the physician's choice of chemotherapy the efficacy analysis of T-DXd in this subpopulation was not a prespecified endpoint of the trial. Even though, collectively these results have contributed to a treatment paradigm shift for mTNBC, the superiority to chemotherapy can only be formally claimed for SG in mTNBC patients and for T-DXd in HER2-low metastatic breast cancer patients
We hypothesize that an upfront alternating SG and T-DXd regimen would have a greater antitumor effect compared with their prescription at progression while limiting the emergence of drug resistance. Hence, the ALTER trial aims to compare the efficacy and safety of an upfront alternating SG and T-DXd regimen with SG alone in HER2-low mTNBC patients
1,219 studies on the registry are indexed under Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms; 446 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 260 is above the median of 60 across 1,053 interventional studies indexed under Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms.
Browse Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms studies →UNICANCER is the lead sponsor of 219 studies on the registry; 52 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
-low breast cancer, defined as either immunohistochemistry (IHC) 2+ / in situ hybridization (ISH)-negative or IHC 1+ (ISH-negative or untested), on either the primary or any metastatic site
Estrogen receptor (ER) expression \<10% and progesterone receptor (PR) expression \<10% (Note: In case of bilateral breast cancer, participation in the study is permitted as long as both tumours correspond to a triple-negative breast cancer meeting the above criteria)
A woman is considered to be of childbearing potential if she is not or has not undergone hysterectomy. Postmenopausal is defined as any of the following:
Age ≥ 60 years Age \< 60 years and ≥ 12 continuous months of amenorrhea with no identified cause other than menopause Surgical sterilization (bilateral oophorectomy)
- Adequate organ and bone marrow function within 28 days before enrollment. The most recent results available must be used for all parameters below:
≥ 9 g/dL. Red blood cell transfusion is not allowed within 1 week prior to screening assessment
(ANC) ≥ 1,500/mm³. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration is not allowed within 1 week prior to screening assessment
count ≥ 100,000/mm³. Platelet transfusion is not allowed within 1 week prior to registration
Total ≤ 1.5 × (ULN) if no liver metastases, or \< 3 × ULN in the presence of documented Gilbert's Syndrome (unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia) or liver metastasis at baseline
(ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 × ULN, or \< 5 × ULN in patients with liver metastasis
Serum albumin ≥ 2.5 g/dL
(CrCl) ≥ 30 mL/min, calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation: CrCl (mL/min) = [(140 - age in years) × weight in kg] / [72 × serum creatinine in mg/dL] (× 0.85 for females)
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
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.
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.
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
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.
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.
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.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).
The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.
Cancer deposits in the brain from a cancer that started elsewhere in the body (CNS metastases include the spinal cord).
Studies differ: some leave out any brain metastases, some accept ones treated and stable for some weeks. Check what this study allows.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
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.
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
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.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Metastases
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Postmenopausal
Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hemoglobin (Hb)
The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)
The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Brain metastases
Cancer deposits in the brain from a cancer that started elsewhere in the body (CNS metastases include the spinal cord).
Studies differ: some leave out any brain metastases, some accept ones treated and stable for some weeks. Check what this study allows.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Excipients
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients will receive either SG and T-DXd in an upfront alternating schema: two cycles of SG, followed by two cycles of T-DXd, then two cycles of SG, and so on, until RECIST 1.1-defined disease progression, unless there is unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent or end of study.
Drug: Sacituzumab Govitecan / Trastuzumab Deruxtecan
Patient will receive Sacituzumab-Govitecan 1(monotherapy) until RECIST 1.1-defined disease progression, unless there is unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent or end of study
Drug: Sacituzumab Govitecan / Trastuzumab Deruxtecan
Drug pages: Sacituzumab govitecan · Trastuzumab deruxtecan
Sacituzumab govitecan is administered intravenously at a dose of 10 mg/kg on Day 1 and Day 8 of each 3-week cycle. In this study, patients receive two cycles of sacituzumab govitecan followed by two cycles of trastuzumab deruxtecan, alternating throughout the study. Trastuzumab deruxtecan is administered intravenously at a dose of 5.4 mg/kg on Day 1 of each 3-week cycle. In this study, patients receive two cycles of trastuzumab deruxtecan followed by two cycles of sacituzumab govitecan, alternating throughout the study. Both Treatment are continued until disease progression as defined by RECIST 1.1, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or the end of the study.
Also known as: Trodelvy, Enhertu
Overall survival (OS)
The overall survival is the length of time from randomization that patients enrolled in the study are still alive
Time frame: From randomization to death from any cause, up to 4 years.
Clinical Benefit Rate (CBR)
Clinical Benefit Rate is defined as the percentage of patients with complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD)for at least 24 weeks, as assessed by RECIST 1.1
Time frame: Time from randomization to disease progression, up to 4 years.
Objective response rate (ORR)
The objective response rate is defined as the percentage of patients with a complete response (CR) or a partial response (PR) as assessed by RECIST 1.1
Time frame: Time from randomization to disease progression, up to 4 years.
Progression-free survival (PFS),
The progression-free survival is the length of time during and after the treatment of a disease that a patient lives with the disease but it does not get worse.
Time frame: From randomization to disease progression or death, up to 4 years.
Quality-Adjusted progression free survival (QA-PFS)
Quality-Adjusted progression free survival is calculated as the product of the progression free survival function and the overall health utility index EQ-5D-5L.
Time frame: From randomization to disease progression or death, up to 4 years.
Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs)
Frequency and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), serious adverse events (SAEs), and adverse events of special interest (AESIs), graded per NCI-CTCAE v5.0. The proportion of patients with treatment discontinuations, interruptions, or dose reductions due to adverse events will also be reported
Time frame: From first dose through 30 days after the last dose of study treatment
Quality of Life questionnaire - EORTC QLQ-C30
Mean change from baseline in the EORTC QLQ-C30 Global Health Status/Quality of Life (GHS/QoL) score at Week 24. The QLQ-C30 is a 30-item questionnaire scored according to the EORTC scoring manual on 0-100 scales; higher GHS/QoL scores indicate better quality of life.
Time frame: Baseline to Week 24
Plan to share: No — Individual Participant Data will not be shared at an individual level. Those data will be part of the study database including all enrolled patients.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Studies of the drugs tested here: Sacituzumab govitecan · Trastuzumab deruxtecan
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms →