Can adding immunotherapy to HER2 therapy erase more tumors?
NCT ID NCT07772245
First seen Aug 19, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether adding an immunotherapy drug called retifanlimab to two standard HER2-targeted therapies (trastuzumab and pertuzumab) can improve treatment response in people with HER2-positive breast cancer. The main goal is to see if the combination leads to a complete pathologic response—meaning no cancer cells remain in the breast or lymph nodes after six cycles of treatment. Adults aged 18 and older with HER2-addicted breast cancer may participate. Each cycle lasts about 21 days, and participants receive the drugs intravenously.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- retifanlimab combined with trastuzumab and pertuzumab
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination could increase the chance of eliminating all visible cancer before surgery, potentially improving long-term outcomes for HER2-positive breast cancer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small phase II trial, so results may not be definitive. Adding an immunotherapy drug may increase immune-related side effects, and not all patients may respond.
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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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Dec 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2032
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: Patients are eligible to be included in the trial only if all of the following criteria apply: 1. Capable of giving signed informed consent which includes compliance with the requirements and restrictions listed in the informed consent form and in this protocol. Written informed consent and any locally required authorization (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) will be obtained from the patient/legal representative prior to performing any protocol-related procedures, including screening evaluations. 2. Male and female aged \>18 years at the time of study entry. HR-positive patients are eligible because eligibility is driven by the biologic enrichment criteria above; HR status will be recorded and analyzed as a prespecified subgroup. 3. All breast cancers must be HER2+ (IHC 3+ or FISH \>=2) and HER2- addicted(Low Relapse score on HER2Dx assay or PDL \>10%. ER+ HER2+ cancers are allowed. Patients who are progesterone receptor positive or negative will be eligible to participate in the study. 4. Primary tumor greater than 1 cm diameter and \<=5cm, measured by clinical examination and mammography or echography. 5. T1-T2, N0-N1 tumors 6. Bilateral breast cancers that individually meet eligibility criteria are allowed. 7. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1 as of consent date . 8. Life expectancy \>6 months. 9. Adequate organ and marrow function as defined below: * Hemoglobin ≥10.0 g/dL with no blood transfusion in the past 28 days * Absolute neutrophil count ≥1.5 × 109/L * Platelet count ≥100 × 109/L * Serum total bilirubin ≤1 × institutional upper limit of normal (ULN; In the case of known Gilbert's syndrome, a higher serum total bilirubin \[\< 1.5 × ULN\] is allowed), * Aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase ≤2.5 × institutional ULN * Alkaline phosphatase ≤1.5 × institutional ULN * Creatinine ≤1.5 mg/dL 10. Baseline left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50%, as measured by multigated acquisition (MUGA) scan or echocardiogram (ECHO). 11. Evidence of postmenopausal status or negative serum pregnancy test for premenopausal female patients. Negative serum β-human chorionic gonadotropin pregnancy test within 7 days prior to the first dose of study treatment for premenopausal patients. Women will be considered postmenopausal if they have been amenorrheic for 12 months without an alternative medical cause. The following age-specific requirements apply: * Women \<50 years of age would be considered postmenopausal if they have been amenorrheic for 12 months or more following cessation of exogenous hormonal treatments and if they have luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels in the postmenopausal range for the institution or underwent surgical sterilization (bilateral oophorectomy or hysterectomy). * Women ≥50 years of age would be considered postmenopausal if they have been amenorrheic for 12 months or more following cessation of all exogenous hormonal treatments, had radiation-induced menopause with last menses \>1 year ago, had chemotherapy-induced menopause with last menses \>1 year ago, or underwent surgical sterilization (bilateral oophorectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, or hysterectomy). 12. Willing to provide biopsy tissues as required by the study. - Patient is willing and able to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study including undergoing treatment and scheduled visits and examinations including follow-up. Exclusion Criteria: Patients are excluded from the trial if any of the following criteria apply: 1. Participation in another clinical study with an investigational product within 28 days prior to the first dose of study treatment. 2. Concurrent enrollment in another clinical study, unless it is an observational (non-interventional) clinical study or during the follow-up period of an interventional study. 3. Unresolved or unstable adverse events (AEs) Grade 3 from prior administration of another investigational drug. 4. Any concurrent chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, or biologic therapy for cancer treatment. 5. Major surgical procedure (as defined by the investigator) within 28 days prior to the first dose of study treatment. 6. History of allogeneic bone marrow/stem, cell or solid organ transplantation. 7. Active or prior documented autoimmune or inflammatory disorders (including inflammatory bowel disease \[e.g., colitis or Crohn's disease\], systemic lupus erythematosus, Sarcoidosis syndrome, or Wegener syndrome \[granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Graves' disease, rheumatoid arthritis, hypophysitis, uveitis, etc.\]). The following are exceptions to this criterion: * Patients with vitiligo or alopecia * Patients with hypothyroidism (e.g., following Hashimoto syndrome) stable on hormone replacement * Any chronic skin condition that does not require systemic therapy * Patients without active disease in the last 5 years may be included but only after consultation with the study physician 8. History of active primary immunodeficiency. 9. Active infection including tuberculosis (clinical evaluation that includes clinical history, physical exam and radiographic findings, and tuberculosis testing in line with local practice), hepatitis B (known positive HBV surface antigen \[HBsAg\] result), hepatitis C, or human immunodeficiency virus (positive HIV 1/2 antibodies). Patients with a past or resolved HBV infection (defined as the presence of hepatitis B core antibody \[anti-HBc\] and absence of hepatitis B surface antigen \[HBsAg\]) are eligible. Patients positive for hepatitis C (HCV) antibody are eligible only if polymerase chain reaction is negative for HCV RNA. 10. Current or prior use of immunosuppressive medication within 14 days prior to the first dose of study treatment. The following are exceptions to this criterion: * Intranasal, inhaled, topical steroids, or local steroid injections (e.g., intra-articular injection) * Systemic corticosteroids at physiologic doses not to exceed 10 mg/day of prednisone or its equivalent * Steroids as premedication for hypersensitivity reactions 11. Female patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding or patients of reproductive potential who are not willing to employ effective birth control from screening to 7 months after the last dose of study treatment. 12. Known allergy or hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs or any of the study drug excipients. 13. Patients with a mean QT interval of greater than or equal to 470ms calculated from 3 screening EKGs. 14. Patients with underlying cardiovascular conditions that have recently undergone interventions including: cardiac ventricular arrhythmia requiring medication, history of second or third degree AV blocks, myocardial infarction with the previous year, congestive heart failure, and unstable angina. 15. Evidence of interstitial lung disease, history of interstitial lung disease, or active, noninfectious pneumonitis at the time of consent. 16. Palliative radiation therapy administered within 1 week before the first dose of study treatment or radiation therapy in the thoracic region that is \> 30 Gy within 6 months before the first dose of study treatment. Note: Participants must have recovered from all radiation-related toxicities (to Grade ≤ 1 or baseline), must not require corticosteroids for this purpose, and must not have had radiation pneumonitis. 17. Has received a live vaccine within 28 days before the planned start of study treatment Note: Examples of live vaccines include but are not limited to measles, mumps, rubella, varicella-zoster (chickenpox), yellow fever, rabies, BCG, and typhoid vaccines. Seasonal influenza vaccines for injection are generally killed-virus vaccines and are allowed; however, intranasal influenza vaccines are live, attenuated vaccines and are not allowed. COVID vaccines are allowed.
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.