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New combo shot aims to stop early breast cancer from returning
NCT ID NCT04569747
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This Phase 2 trial is testing whether a combination of two targeted drugs (trastuzumab and pertuzumab) given as a single shot under the skin, along with standard hormone therapy, can prevent cancer from returning after surgery in people with early-stage, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive breast cancer. The study enrolls 393 participants with small tumors that have not spread to lymph nodes or have only microscopic spread. The main goal is to see how many people remain cancer-free three years after treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Trastuzumab and pertuzumab (given as a combined injection under the skin) plus hormone therapy (letrozole, anastrozole, exemestane, tamoxifen, or leuprolide)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a more effective and convenient treatment option after surgery for people with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer, potentially reducing the chance of the cancer coming back.
- What could go wrong
- This is a single-arm Phase 2 trial, so results are compared to historical data, not a placebo group. The long-term benefits and risks are still being studied, and the treatment may not work for everyone.
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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393 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2021
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2030
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: * HER2-positive T1 histologically confirmed invasive carcinoma of the breast. Patients must have node-negative (N0) or micrometastases (N1mi) breast cancer according to the AJCC 8th edition anatomic staging table. * If the patient has had a negative sentinel node biopsy, then no further axillary dissection is required, and the patient is determined to be node-negative. Axillary nodes with single cells or tumor clusters ≤ 0.2 mm by either H\&E or immunohistochemistry (IHC) will be considered node-negative. * Any axillary lymph node with tumor clusters between 0.02 and 0.2cm is considered a micrometastasis. Patients with a micrometastasis are eligible. An axillary dissection is not required to be performed in patients with a micrometastasis found by sentinel node evaluation. In cases where the specific pathologic size of lymph node involvement is subject to interpretation, the Sponsor-Investigator will make the final determination as to eligibility. The investigator must document approval in the patient medical record. * Patients who have one or more foci of T1aN0, ER+ (defined as \>10%), HER2-negative cancer in the ipsilateral breast, in addition to their primary HER2-positive tumor, are eligible. * For unifocal disease, all invasive disease must have been tested for ER and PR (for multifocal disease, see below). Either ER or PR must be positive, defined as ER ≥10% or PR ≥10%. ER- and PR-assays should be performed by immunohistochemical methods according to the local institution standard protocol. * HER2-positive by ASCO CAP 2018 guidelines. * Bilateral breast cancers that individually meet eligibility criteria are allowed. * Patients with multifocal or multicentric disease are eligible as long as each tumor individually meets eligibility criteria. * Patients with a history of ipsilateral DCIS are eligible as long as the patient has not received prior hormonal therapy. Patients with a history of contralateral DCIS are not eligible unless contralateral DCIS was diagnosed at least 15 years ago * ≤ 95 days between the date of protocol registration and the patient's most recent breast surgery for this breast cancer * Patients must have undergone definitive breast surgery for the current malignancy. All tumor should be removed by either a modified radical mastectomy or a segmental mastectomy (lumpectomy), with either a sentinel node biopsy or axillary dissection \-- All margins should be clear of invasive cancer or DCIS (i.e. no tumor on ink). The local pathologist must document negative margins of resection in the pathology report. If all other margins are clear, a positive posterior (deep) margin is permitted, provided the surgeon documents that the excision was performed down to the pectoral fascia and all tumor has been removed. Likewise, if all other margins are clear, a positive anterior (superficial; abutting skin) margin is permitted provided the surgeon documents that all tumor has been removed. Radiation therapy to the conserved breast is required. * Patients may have received up to 8 weeks of hormonal therapy as adjuvant treatment for this cancer. Patients should otherwise not have received prior hormonal therapy with the exception that hormonal therapy administered for less than 8-week duration at least 15 years ago is allowed. * Prior oophorectomy (including for cancer therapy) is allowed. * Patients undergoing breast conservation therapy (i.e. lumpectomy) must not have any contraindications to radiation therapy. * Patients who have participated in a window study (treatment with an investigational agent prior to surgery for ≤2 weeks) are eligible. Patients must have discontinued the investigational agent at least 14 days before participation in this study. * Men and women with any menopausal status ≥18 years of age * ECOG Performance Status 0 or 1 * Participants must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below: * ANC ≥ 1000/mm3 * hemoglobin ≥8 g/dl * platelets ≥ 75,000/mm3 * AST and ALT both \<5x institutional ULN * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL. For patients with Gilbert syndrome, the direct bilirubin should be \<institutional ULN * Serum creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL OR calculated GFR ≥ 30mL/min * Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50% * Post-menopausal patients must meet one of the following criteria: * Prior bilateral ovariectomy/oophorectomy * Age ≥ 60 years * Age \< 60 years with intact uterus and amenorrhoeic for ≥ 12 consecutive months prior to chemotherapy and/or endocrine therapy exposure (medication-induced amenorrhea is not acceptable to meet this criterion) * Age \< 60 years hysterectomized and FSH and plasma estradiol levels in the postmenopausal range according to local policies prior to chemotherapy and/or endocrine therapy exposure. * Willingness to discontinue contraceptive hormonal therapy, e.g. birth control pills, prior to registration and while on study * Premenopausal patients with intact uterus must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test, including women who have had a tubal ligation and women less than 12 months from their last menstrual period. * Women of childbearing potential and men with partners of childbearing potential must be willing to use one highly effective form of nonhormonal contraception or two effective forms of nonhormonal contraception by the patient and/or partner and continue its use for the duration of the study treatment and for 7 months after the last dose of antibody treatment and 3 months after the last dose of hormonal treatment. * Patients must be willing and able to sign informed consent. * Patients must be willing to provide archival tissue for research purposes. * If patient is English-speaking, must be willing to fill out patient questionnaires. Exclusion Criteria: * Neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy for this breast cancer prior to enrollment is prohibited. * Any of the following due to teratogenic potential of the study drugs: * Pregnant women * Nursing women * Women of childbearing potential who are unwilling to employ adequate contraception (condoms, diaphragms, IUDS, surgical sterilization, abstinence, etc). Hormonal birth control methods are not permitted. * Men who are unwilling to employ adequate contraception (condoms, surgical sterilization, abstinence, etc). * Participants who are receiving any other investigational agents for treatment of breast cancer, unless specific approval is obtained from the Sponsor-Investigator. * Locally advanced tumors at diagnosis, including tumors fixed to the chest wall, peau d'orange, skin ulcerations/nodules, or clinical inflammatory changes (diffuse brawny cutaneous induration with an erysipeloid edge) * Patients with a history of previous invasive breast cancer. * Individuals with a history of a different malignancy are ineligible except for the following circumstances: * Individuals with a history of other malignancies are eligible if they have been disease-free for at least 5 years and are deemed by the investigator to be at low risk for recurrence of that malignancy. * individuals with the following cancer are eligible regardless of when they were diagnosed and treated: cervical cancer in situ, and non-melanoma cancer of the skin. * Intercurrent illness including, but not limited to: ongoing or active, unresolved systemic infection, renal failure requiring dialysis, active cardiac disease, prior myocardial infarction (asymptomatic changes on EKG suggestive of old MI is not an exclusion), history of CHF, current use of any therapy specifically for CHF, uncontrolled hypertension, significant psychiatric illness, or other conditions that in the opinion of the investigator limit compliance with study requirements. Time and Motion Substudy Eligibility: * Participant must be enrolled at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute * Participant must not have discontinued pertuzumab following treatment cycle 1 * Participant must be able to tolerate subcutaneous administration following cycle 1
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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 Medical Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
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Cape Cod Healthcare Center
Hyannis, Massachusetts, 02601, United States
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Dana Farber Cancer Institite
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
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Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center - Foxborough
Foxborough, Massachusetts, 02035, United States
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Dana-Farber Cancer Insitute at Londonderry Hospital
Londonderry, New Hampshire, 03053, United States
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Dana-Farber at Milford
Milford, Massachusetts, 01757, United States
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Dana-Farber at South Shore Hospital
Weymouth, Massachusetts, 02190, United States
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Eastern Maine Medical Center (Northern Light)
Brewer, Maine, 04412, United States
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Emory University - Winship Cancer Institute
Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
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Greco-Hainsworth Centers for Research/Tennessee Oncology
Nashville, Tennessee, 37203, United States
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Indiana University Health - Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
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Indiana University Health Schwarz Cancer Center
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46032, United States
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Indiana University Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
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MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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New York University Langone Health
New York, New York, 10016, United States
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New York University Langone Hospital - Long Island
Mineola, New York, 11501, United States
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New York University Langone Hospital -Brooklyn
Brooklyn, New York, 11220, United States
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Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbus, Ohio, 43210, United States
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SCRI Oncology Partners
Nashville, Tennessee, 37203, United States
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Stamford Hospital
Stamford, Connecticut, 06904, United States
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The Christ Hospital
Cincinnati, Ohio, 45219, United States
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UNC Rex Cancer Center
Raleigh, North Carolina, 27607, United States
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UNC Rex Cancer Center at Wakefield
Raleigh, North Carolina, 27614, United States
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UNC Rex Hematology Oncology Associated - Cary
Cary, North Carolina, 27518, United States
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UNC Rex Hematology Oncology Associates of Garner
Garner, North Carolina, 27529, United States
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University of Chicago Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
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University of Miami- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Miami, Florida, 33136, United States
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37203, United States
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Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital
Atlanta, Georgia, 30342, United States
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Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University Hospital Midtown
Atlanta, Georgia, 30308, United States
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