Can a drug duo outsmart advanced breast cancer?
NCT ID NCT02536742
First seen Aug 26, 2026 · Last updated Aug 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial is testing whether combining palbociclib and fulvestrant can help postmenopausal women with a specific type of advanced breast cancer (ER+/HER2-) that has stopped responding to prior treatments. The study aims to see how long the cancer stays under control and to look for genetic clues that might predict who benefits most. Participants receive both drugs in cycles until the disease progresses or side effects become unacceptable.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- palbociclib (a CDK inhibitor) combined with fulvestrant (an estrogen receptor degrader)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination may offer a new treatment option for advanced breast cancer and help identify genetic markers that predict which patients benefit most.
- What could go wrong
- This is a phase II trial, so results are preliminary. The combination may not improve outcomes for all patients, and side effects like low blood cell counts and fatigue are possible.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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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124 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2016
- Finished
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Dec 2022
- Lead sponsor
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A research network
The lead sponsor is a research network or cooperative group.
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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Female participants only
- 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: * Female gender * Age ≥ 18 years * Postmenopausal, defined as women with: * Prior bilateral surgical oophorectomy; or * Amenorrhea and age ≥ 60 years; or * Age \< 60 years and amenorrhea for 12 or more consecutive months in the absence of alternative pathological or physiological cause and FSH and serum estradiol levels within the laboratory's reference ranges for postmenopausal women. * Endocrine resistant disease, defined as one of: * Relapse while on adjuvant endocrine therapy; * Relapse within 12 months after completion of adjuvant endocrine therapy; * Progression of disease under first line endocrine therapy for metastatic and/or loco-regionally advanced breast cancer. Note: Patient may have received one prior chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic breast cancer. * ER positive tumor and HER2-negative tumor, as assessed locally * ECOG Performance Status 0-1. * Measurable or non-measurable but evaluable disease according to RECIST 1.1. * Written Informed Consent (IC) for screening procedures. * Written informed consent to participate in the AURORA program of BIG. * The patient has been informed of and agrees to data transfer and handling, in accordance with national data protection guidelines. * Life expectancy \>3 months. * Hematological status: * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 × 109/L * Platelet count ≥ 100 × 109/L * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL * Hepatic status: * Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN). * AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 × ULN; if the patient has liver metastases, ALT and AST must be ≤ 5 × ULN. * Glucose in normal range, or well-controlled diabetes defined as an HbA1c level ≤ 7.5%. * Renal status: \- Creatinine ≤ 1.5 ×ULN or creatinine clearance \> 60 ml/min. * 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. * Ability to swallow oral medication. Exclusion Criteria: * Prior use of fulvestrant or any CDK inhibitor. * More than one prior line of chemotherapy for metastatic or locally relapsed disease. * Previous or current non-breast malignancies within the last 5 years, with the exception of in situ carcinoma of the cervix, and adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. * Known active uncontrolled or symptomatic CNS metastases, carcinomatous meningitis or leptomeningeal disease as indicated by clinical symptoms, cerebral edema, and/or progressive growth. * Any of the following in the previous 6 months: myocardial infarction, severe/unstable angina pectoris, ongoing cardiac dysrhythmias of NCI CTCAE grade ≥2, atrial fibrillation of any grade, coronary/peripheral artery bypass graft, symptomatic congestive heart failure (NYHA functional classification ≥3), cerebrovascular accident including transient ischemic attack, or symptomatic pulmonary embolism. * QTc exceeding 480msec, family or personal history of long or short QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome or known history of QTc prolongation, or Torsade de Pointes (TdP). * Uncontrolled electrolyte disorders that can reinforce the QT-prolonging effect of the drug (e.g., hypocalcemia, hypokalemia, hypomag¬nesemia). * Known history of HIV seropositivity. HIV screening is not required at baseline. * Uncontrolled diabetes defined as HbA1c level \> 7.5%. * Concurrent disease or familial, sociological or geographical condition that would make the patient inappropriate for trial participation or any serious medical disorder that would interfere with the patient's safety. * Dementia, altered mental status, or any psychiatric condition that would prevent the understanding or rendering of Informed Consent. * Known abnormalities in coagulation such as bleeding diathesis, or treatment with anticoagulants precluding intramuscular injections of fulvestrant. * Treatment with an investigational agent in the 4 weeks before enrollment. * Concurrent treatment with any of the drugs not permitted * Adverse events (except alopecia) from previous systemic cancer therapy, radiotherapy or surgery have not recovered to CTCAE v4.0 grade 1 or resolved prior to enrollment.
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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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Antwerp University Hospital
Edegem, 2650, Belgium
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Azienda USL4 Prato
Prato, Italy
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Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
Glasgow, United Kingdom
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CHU Liege
Liège, Belgium
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Clinique St. Elizabeth
Namur, 5000, Belgium
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Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc
Brussels, 1200, Belgium
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IRCCS San Martino University Hospital
Genova, Italy
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Institut Jules Bodet
Brussels, 1000, Belgium
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Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, Medical Oncology Unit
Pavia, 27100, Italy
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Istituto Europeo di Oncologia
Milan, Italy
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Mater Salutis Hospital AULSS 21 della Regione Veneto
Legnago, Italy
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Ospedale Centrale Bolzano, Medical Oncology
Bolzano, Italy
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Ospedali degli Infermi, S.O.C. Oncologia
Biella, 13879, Italy
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Royal Cornwall
Truro, United Kingdom
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Singleton Hospital
Swansea, United Kingdom
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Sint-Augustinus
Antwerp, 2610, Belgium
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UZ Leuven
Leuven, Belgium
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Velindre NHS Trust
Cardiff, United Kingdom
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Western General Hospital
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a Two-Drug combo outsmart resistant breast and ovarian cancers?
- Can a platform trial match the right drug combo to each tumor?
- Can a vaccine teach the immune system to fight HER2-Positive tumors?
- Can ultrasound predict cancer drug response earlier?
- Can a Two-Drug attack shrink Hard-to-Treat breast cancer?
- Can mapping tumor DNA unlock personalized breast cancer care?