Could immune activators revive treatment for Hard-to-Treat breast cancer?
NCT ID NCT03414658
First seen Jul 20, 2026 · Last updated Jul 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests whether adding immune-boosting drugs (avelumab and utomilumab) to standard chemotherapy and targeted therapy can help people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer whose disease has worsened after prior treatments. Participants are randomly assigned to one of three drug combinations to see which best delays cancer growth. The study focuses on patients whose tumors still express HER2 but no longer respond to standard HER2-targeted therapies.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a combination of trastuzumab, vinorelbine, avelumab, and utomilumab
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a new treatment option for people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer whose disease has stopped responding to standard therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage trial with a small number of participants, so results may not confirm benefit. Adding immunotherapy can also cause immune-related side effects.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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100 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2018
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥18 years or older * Histologically confirmed breast adenocarcinoma that is unresectable loco-regionally advanced or metastatic * HER2-positive (immunohistochemistry score 3+) or ERBB2- amplification (Ratio ERBB2/centromeres ≥ 2.0 or mean gene copy number ≥ 6) on primary tumor or of metastatic or unresectable loco-regional biopsy. * Measurable disease per RECIST v1.1 (see Section 11) * Patients must have previous treatment with ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla, T-DM1) in any setting. Patients must have previously received trastuzumab and pertuzumab in the metastatic setting or within 12 months of neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment. * Patient must have progressed on their most recent line of therapy. Progression must have been demonstrated by radiological or clinical assessment. * Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50% * Willingness and availability to submit FFPE tissue for central confirmation of HER2 positivity and central assessment of PD-L1 status. This can be from archival tissue from unresectable loco-regional or metastatic disease obtained ≤ 1 year prior to enrollment or new tissue material from a recently obtained surgical or diagnostic biopsy. Tissue obtained for the biopsy must not have been previously irradiated. If a patient does not have any available archival tissue ≤ 1 year old and the treating investigator does not feel that it would be safe to perform a fresh biopsy, the requirement for a fresh biopsy may be waived after discussion with the Principal Investigator. * Written informed consent for screening and trial participation procedures including biological material transfer and handling. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1 * Hematopoietic status: * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.0 × 109/L, * Platelet count ≥ 100 × 109/L, * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL * Hepatic status: * Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN). In the case of known Gilbert's syndrome, a higher serum total bilirubin (\< 2 × ULN) is allowed. * AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 × ULN; if the patient has liver metastases, ALT and AST must be ≤ 5 × ULN. * Renal status: * Creatinine ≤ 1.5 ×ULN or creatinine clearance \> 60 ml/min * Proteinuria \< 1 g/day * International Normalized Ratio (INR) or Prothrombin Time (PT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN unless patient is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as PT or PTT is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulant. * If female of childbearing potential, must have a negative pregnancy test within 7 days of initiating treatment. Childbearing potential is defined by: those who have not been surgically sterilized and/or have had a menstrual period in the past year. * Participants of childbearing potential (as defined above) must be willing to use effective contraception during treatment and up to 7 months after stop of trial treatment. Acceptable methods of contraception are intrauterine devices, bilateral tubal occlusion, vasectomized, or total abstinence. Oral, injectable, or implant hormonal contraceptives are not allowed. * Must not be breastfeeding/lactating. Exclusion Criteria: * Prior therapy with any anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, L2, anti-4-1BB (CD137), or anti-CTLA4 therapy * Known Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (HIV 1/2 antibodies) * Positive for Hepatitis B (HBsAg reactive) or Hepatitis C (HCV RNA \[qualitative\]). * History of interstitial lung disease * Active central nervous system metastases, as indicated by clinical symptoms, cerebral edema, and/or progressive growth (patients with history of CNS metastases or spinal cord compression are eligible if they are clinically stable for at least 4 weeks before first dose of investigational product and do not require high-dose steroid treatment). * History of clinically significant or uncontrolled cardiac disease, including congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association functional classification ≥3), angina, myocardial infarction or ventricular arrhythmia. * Previous severe hypersensitivity reaction to treatment with another monoclonal antibody. * Active infection requiring systemic therapy. * Chronic systemic therapy with immunosuppressive agents including corticosteroids. * Active autoimmune disease or a documented history of autoimmune disease, or a syndrome that requires systemic steroids or immunosuppressive agents. Patients with vitiligo or resolved childhood asthma/atopy would be an exception to this rule. Patients that require intermittent use of bronchodilators or local steroid injections would not be excluded from the trial. Patients with hypothyroidism stable on hormone replacement or Sjögren's syndrome will not be excluded from the trial. * Concurrent disease or condition that would make the patient inappropriate for trial participation or any serious medical disorder that would interfere with the patient's safety. * No uncontrolled hypertension (≥180/110), unstable diabetes mellitus, dyspnea at rest, or chronic therapy with oxygen. * Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and/or biological cancer therapy within 3 weeks prior to the first trial dose or has not recovered to CTCAE v.4 grade 1 or better from adverse events (except alopecia). * Unresolved or unstable, serious adverse events from prior administration of another investigational drug. * Live vaccines within 30 days prior to the first dose of trial therapy and during trial treatment.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
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Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
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Georgetown University Medical Center
Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20007, United States
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Indiana University Health Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
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Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
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MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
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Montefiore Medical Center
The Bronx, New York, 10467, United States
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University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama, 35249, United States
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University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, California, 94158, United States
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University of Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7305, United States
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University of Chicago Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
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University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
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University of Washington Fred Hutchinson Cancer Care
Seattle, Washington, 98109, United States
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Retrospective analysis of pyrotinib in the treatment of HER2-Positive advanced breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab and pertuzumab
- Mind and body: does resilience leave a molecular mark in breast cancer?
- Which pain block works better for breast surgery?
- Can a Triple-Drug combo erase HER2-Positive breast tumors before surgery?
- Bacteria inside tumors may hold the key to breast cancer treatment
- Can a newer drug ease the bone pain of chemotherapy support?