Estradiol in Treating Patients With ER Beta Positive, Triple Negative Locally Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03941730 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : May 8, 2019
Last Update Posted : September 2, 2022
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma Anatomic Stage III Breast Cancer AJCC v8 Anatomic Stage IV Breast Cancer AJCC v8 Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma Recurrent Breast Carcinoma | Procedure: Biopsy Procedure: Computed Tomography Procedure: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Procedure: Positron Emission Tomography Biological: Therapeutic Estradiol | Phase 2 |
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
I. To assess the anti-tumor activity of estradiol in patients with locally advanced or metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) that expresses ERbeta (> 25% moderate or strong nuclear staining).
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To examine the safety profile of estradiol when administered at a dose of 2 mg three times daily (TID) to women with locally advanced or metastatic TNBC that expresses ERbeta.
II. To examine the changes in phosphorylated (phospho)-ERbeta, cystatins 1, 2, 4 and 5, phospho-Smad2/3 and Ki-67 in tumor biopsies taken before and after the first cycle of treatment.
EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:
I. To examine changes in plasma estradiol, serum cytokine and cystatin levels before/after 1 cycle of estradiol.
II. Analyze the global gene expression profiles of paired biopsies prior to and following 1 cycle of therapy.
III. To develop patient derived xenografts (PDX) that are ERalpha negative, HER2 negative and ERbeta positive (Mayo only).
IV. To examine changes in the relative abundance of circulating immune cell populations after the first cycle of treatment and whether these changes differ with respect to whether the patient is still on treatment after 6 cycles of treatment or not.
OUTLINE:
Patients receive estradiol orally (PO) TID for days 1-28. Cycles repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo a tissue biopsy at the end of cycle 1, collection of blood samples on day 1 of cycle 1 (C1D1), at the end of cycle 1, and at the end of treatment. In addition, patients undergo computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or positron emission tomography (PET) scans at baseline, at the end of cycles 2, 4, and 6, and then every 8 weeks until disease progression.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up annually for 5 years from study registration.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Estimated Enrollment : | 38 participants |
Allocation: | N/A |
Intervention Model: | Single Group Assignment |
Masking: | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | Therapeutic Targeting of ER Beta in Triple Negative Breast Cancer |
Actual Study Start Date : | August 28, 2019 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | April 30, 2023 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | April 30, 2024 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
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Experimental: Treatment (estradiol)
Patients receive estradiol PO TID for days 1-28. Cycles repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also undergo a tissue biopsy at the end of cycle 1, collection of blood samples on C1D1, at the end of cycle 1, and at the end of treatment. In addition, patients undergo CT, MRI, or PET scans at baseline, at the end of cycles 2, 4, and 6, and then every 8 weeks until disease progression.
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Procedure: Biopsy
Undergo tissue biopsy
Other Names:
Procedure: Computed Tomography Undergo CT
Other Names:
Procedure: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Undergo MRI
Other Names:
Procedure: Positron Emission Tomography Undergo PET
Other Names:
Biological: Therapeutic Estradiol Given PO
Other Names:
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- Clinical benefit rate [ Time Frame: 6 months ]A patient is said to have derived clinical benefit rate at the 6 month time point if the patient's disease meets the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) for complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD) for > 6 months following initiation of treatment. The 6 month clinical benefit rate is the percentage of patients who are found to meet the criteria for clinical benefit at least 6 months among all the patients who have started estradiol treatment. As the number of patients with discordant ERbeta findings are expected to be small, a 90% exact binomial confidence interval will be constructed for the proportion of patients who were found to have no to weak ERβbeta expressing metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and who derived clinical benefit rate at the 6 month time point.
- Incidence of adverse events [ Time Frame: 5 years ]An adverse event (AE) is any unfavorable and unintended sign (including an abnormal laboratory finding), symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a medical treatment or procedure that may or may not be considered related to the medical treatment or procedure. All grade 2, 3, 4 or 5 adverse events will be documented and assigned an attribute by treating clinician as to its relationship to treatment. For a given AE, the proportion of patients who report developing a grade 2-5 of this AE are determined. The number of dose reductions per patient and the reasons for the dose reduction are summarized.
- Tumor response rate among those patients with measurable disease [ Time Frame: 5 years ]The tumor response rate is defined as the 100% time the number of patients with a CR or PR (as defined by the RECIST criteria) on 2 consecutive evaluations at least 8 weeks apart divided by the total number of eligible patients who began study treatment. A 90% binomial confidence interval is constructed for the true response rate.
- Progression free survival (PFS) distribution [ Time Frame: From registration to the first of the following events: local, regional, or distant recurrence, second primary disease of death due to any cause, assessed up to 5 years ]The distribution of PFS times will be estimated using the method of Kaplan-Meier.
- Overall survival distribution [ Time Frame: From registration to death due to any cause, assessed up to 5 years ]The distribution of survival times are estimated using the method of Kaplan-Meier.
- Changes in phospho-ERbeta, cystatins 1, 2, 4 and 5, phospho-Smad2/3 and Ki-67 [ Time Frame: 5 years ]Patients undergo tumor biopsies prior to the start of treatment and at completion of cycle 1 treatment. These specimens will be undergoing immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining with the following antibodies: phosphorylated (phospho)-ERbeta, cystatins 1, 2, 4 and 5, phospho-Smad2/3 and Ki-67. For each of these biomarkers, a times series plot are constructed so that an individual patient's data will be represented using the same color for each of the five graphs. These graphs are visually inspected for trends within each of the graphs (variation between individuals) as well as across the five graphs (profile of biomarker changes within an individual).
- Changes in serum cystatin levels in response to treatment [ Time Frame: Baseline up to cycle 1 ]Change in cystatin levels following one cycle of treatment are examined using signed rank tests and the difference in the percent change in its level following one cycle of treatment between patients who derived clinical benefit and those who did not will be examined using a two sample Wilcoxon rank sum test.

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | Female |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- PRE-SCREENING CRITERIA (STEP 0): Women of age >= 18 years
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PRE-SCREENING CRITERIA (STEP 0): History of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer that is ERalpha negative or low (< 1% nuclear staining) and HER2 negative.
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Note: HER2 negative disease per 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American of Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) guidelines, one of the following must apply:
- 0 or 1+ by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and not amplified by in situ hybridization (ISH);
- 0 or 1+ by IHC and ISH not done;
- 2+ by IHC and ISH results are: < 6.0 HER2 signals/cell with HER2/CEP17 ratio < 2.0;
- IHC not done and not amplified by ISH.
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PRE-SCREENING CRITERIA (STEP 0): =< 3 prior chemotherapy regimens for treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
- Note: Prior use of monoclonal antibodies targeting PD1, PDL1 is allowed (if administered as monotherapy it is not counted as a chemotherapy regimen).
- PRE-SCREENING CRITERIA (STEP 0): Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1
- PRE-SCREENING CRITERIA (STEP 0): Willing to submit a biopsy specimen from locally recurrent or metastatic site (or primary if metastatic site not available) of breast cancer for ERbeta staining to Mayo Clinic Anatomic Pathology.
- PRE-SCREENING CRITERIA (STEP 0): No prior history of metastatic ERalpha positive breast cancer (>= 1%)
- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): Presence of moderate or strong nuclear ERbeta staining in > 25% of cells in specimen submitted during Pre-Screening Step.
- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): For patients who did not have a biopsy or lacking ERalpha, progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 results from a locally advanced or metastatic site performed =< 12 months prior to Pre-Registration: Willing to undergo a standard of care biopsy of locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer for ERalpha, PR, and HER2 as well as additional research cores.
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): Measurable or non-measurable disease as defined by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria that will be assessed using imaging-based evaluations.
- Note: The tumor lesion biopsied during the pre-registration period is not considered measurable disease nor a target lesion.
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): If history of brain metastases must meet the following criteria:
- Patients with a history of brain metastases are eligible only if they are asymptomatic and have stable disease for >= 3 months, including < 28 days of prior to pre-registration.
- Not receiving steroids for brain metastases.
- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): ECOG performance status 0 or 1.
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): =< 3 prior chemotherapy regimens for treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
- NOTE: Prior use of monoclonal antibodies targeting PD1, PDL1 is allowed.
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): Women must be postmenopausal.
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NOTE: Postmenopausal status is verified by:
- Prior bilateral surgical oophorectomy, or
- Age >= 60 years, or
- Age < 60 years with no menses for > 1 year with estradiol levels within postmenopausal range, according to institutional standard.
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- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): Able to swallow oral medications.
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 1): Willingness to stop use of strong inducers or inhibitors of CYP3A4 prior to registration.
- NOTE: Use of strong inducers or inhibitors is allowed during pre-registration as long as patient will complete course prior to registration.
- REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 2): For patents who had a biopsy taken from a metastatic site =< 12 months prior to Pre-Registration: Confirmation from the local lab that the tumor from this biopsy was ERalpha negative (< 1% nuclear staining) and HER2 negative
- REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 2): For patients who underwent a pre-registration biopsy: Histologic confirmation from local lab that tumor is ERalpha negative (< 1% nuclear staining), and HER2 negative
- REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 2): Hemoglobin >= 8 g/dL (=< 14 days prior to registration).
- REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 2): Platelet count >= 75,000/mm^3 (=< 14 days prior to registration).
- REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 2): Creatinine =< 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) (=< 14 days prior to registration).
- REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 2): Total bilirubin =< 1.5 x ULN (=< 14 days prior to registration).
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REGISTRATION CRITERIA (STEP 2): Aspartate aminotransferase/serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (AST/SGOT) =< 2.5 x ULN (=< 14 days prior to registration).
- For patients with liver metastasis =< 5 x ULN.
Exclusion Criteria:
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA: Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to:
- Ongoing or active infection.
- Symptomatic congestive heart failure.
- Unstable angina pectoris.
- Uncontrolled symptomatic cardiac arrhythmia.
- Uncontrolled hypertension (defined as blood pressure > 160/90).
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA: Deep vein thrombosis / pulmonary embolism (DVT/PE) =< 12 months prior to pre-registration.
- Note: Patients who are on anticoagulant therapy for maintenance are eligible as long as the DVT and/or PE occurred > 6 months prior to pre-registration, and there is no evidence for active thrombosis (either DVT or PE).
- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA: Stroke =< 6 months prior to pre-registration.
- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA: Two or more episodes of DVT and/or PE =< 5 years prior to pre-registration.
- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA: Abnormal uterine bleeding =< 6 months prior to pre-registration
- PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA: History of coagulopathy.
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PRE-REGISTRATION CRITERIA: Other active second malignancy other than non-melanoma skin cancers within 3 years prior to pre-registration.
- NOTE: A second malignancy is not considered active if all treatment for that malignancy is completed and the patient has been disease-free for >= 3 years prior to pre-registration.
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REGISTRATION CRITERIA: None of the following therapies are allowed =< 14 days prior to registration.
- Chemotherapy.
- Immunotherapy.
- Biologic therapy.
- Hormonal therapy.
- Monoclonal antibodies.
- Anti-HER2 or other "targeted" (e.g. mTOR) therapy.
- Note: Any adverse events derived from these therapies must be =< grade 2 prior to starting study therapy (exceptions for alopecia).

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT03941730
United States, Alabama | |
University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Center | Recruiting |
Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35233 | |
Contact: Shiney Isaac 205-934-9972 sisaac@uabmc.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Ahmed Elkhanany | |
United States, Arizona | |
Mayo Clinic in Arizona | Withdrawn |
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States, 85259 | |
United States, California | |
UCSF Medical Center-Mission Bay | Recruiting |
San Francisco, California, United States, 94158 | |
Contact: Amy N. DeLuca 415-353-7288 amy.deluca@ucsf.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Hope S. Rugo | |
United States, District of Columbia | |
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital | Recruiting |
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20007 | |
Contact: Antonella N. Novielli 202-784-3923 noviella@georgetown.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Candace B. Mainor | |
United States, Florida | |
Mayo Clinic in Florida | Recruiting |
Jacksonville, Florida, United States, 32224-9980 | |
Contact: Alvaro Moreno-Aspitia 904-953-2000 morenoaspitia.alvaro@mayo.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Alvaro Moreno-Aspitia | |
United States, Illinois | |
University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center | Recruiting |
Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637 | |
Contact: Rita Nanda rnanda@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Rita Nanda | |
United States, Minnesota | |
Mayo Clinic in Rochester | Recruiting |
Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905 | |
Contact: Matthew P. Goetz 507-284-2511 goetz.matthew@mayo.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Matthew P. Goetz | |
United States, New York | |
Montefiore Medical Center-Einstein Campus | Recruiting |
Bronx, New York, United States, 10461 | |
Contact: Ana M. Bernal 718-405-8428 abernal@montefiore.org | |
Principal Investigator: Jesus D. Anampa Mesias | |
United States, Washington | |
FHCC South Lake Union | Recruiting |
Seattle, Washington, United States, 98109 | |
Contact: Shaveta Vinayak 206-606-1890 broncresearch@seattlecca.org | |
Principal Investigator: Shaveta Vinayak | |
University of Washington Medical Center - Montlake | Recruiting |
Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195 | |
Contact: Shaveta Vinayak 206-606-1890 shaveta@uw.edu | |
Principal Investigator: Shaveta Vinayak |
Principal Investigator: | Matthew P Goetz | Mayo Clinic |
Responsible Party: | Mayo Clinic |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT03941730 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
MC1831 NCI-2019-02285 ( Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program) ) MC1831 ( Other Identifier: Mayo Clinic in Rochester ) P30CA015083 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract ) P50CA116201 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract ) |
First Posted: | May 8, 2019 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | September 2, 2022 |
Last Verified: | August 2022 |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | Yes |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
Carcinoma Breast Neoplasms Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial Neoplasms by Histologic Type Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Breast Diseases Skin Diseases Estradiol 17 beta-cypionate Estradiol 3-benzoate |
Estradiol Polyestradiol phosphate Estrogens Hormones Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists Physiological Effects of Drugs Contraceptive Agents, Hormonal Contraceptive Agents Reproductive Control Agents Contraceptive Agents, Female |