Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: The "EMBRACE" Trial: Eisai Metastatic Breast Cancer Study Assessing Physician's Choice Versus E7389. A Phase III Open-Label, Randomized, Parallel, Two-arm, Multi-center Study of E7389 Versus "Treatment of Physician's Choice" in Patients With Locally Recurrent, Metastatic Breast Cancer, Previously Treated With At Least Two and a Maximum of Five Prior Chemotherapy Regimens, Including an Anthracycline and a Taxane
Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to compare Overall Survival (OS), Progression Free Survival (PFS), objective tumor response rate, duration of response, and safety in patients treated with E7389 versus the Treatment of Physician's Choice (TPC) in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer.


Options:
A: DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed unilateral or bilateral primary breast cancer

  * Meets 1 of the following staging criteria:

    * Clinical stage T4 or T3 disease
    * Clinical stage T1 and pathologic stage N+ by sentinel lymph node biopsy OR clinical stage T2, N+ disease AND estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) positive tumor
    * ER and PR negative tumor (T1-4, N0-3, M0)
* Disease confirmed by core biopsy

  * No fine-needle aspiration or incisional biopsy
* Bidimensionally measurable disease\*

  * Tumor lesion palpable and measures ≥ 2 cm OR tumor lesion ≥ 1 cm in maximum diameter by sonography

    * For inflammatory disease, extent of inflammation can be used as measurable lesion NOTE: \*In patients with multifocal or multicentric breast cancer, the largest lesion should be measured
* Candidate for adjuvant chemotherapy

  * No low- or moderate-risk patients who are doubtful candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy and do not fulfill the staging criteria
* Known HER-2/neu status by core biopsy

  * HER-2/neu positive tumor is defined as +3 by immunohistochemistry \[IHC\] OR positive by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)
* No evidence of distant metastasis
* Hormone receptor status:

  * ER- or PR-positive tumor OR ER- and PR-negative tumor

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* No male patients
* Menopausal status not specified
* Karnofsky performance status 80-100%
* Life expectancy ≥ 10 years (disregarding diagnosis of cancer)
* Normal cardiac function confirmed by ECG
* LVEF ≥ 55% by cardiac ultrasound
* Neutrophil count ≥ 2,000/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL
* Bilirubin normal
* AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Alkaline phosphatase (AP) ≤ 5 times ULN OR
* AP ≤ 2.5 times ULN AND AST and/or ALT ≤ 1.5 times ULN
* Creatinine ≤ 2 mg/dL
* Creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective nonhormonal contraception
* No motor or sensory neuropathy ≥ grade 2
* No other malignancy within the past 5 years except carcinoma in situ of the cervix or nonmelanoma skin cancer
* No New York Heart Association class II-IV congestive heart failure
* No coronary artery disease
* No history of myocardial infarction
* No uncontrolled arterial hypertension (i.e., blood pressure ≥ 160/90 mm Hg despite antihypertensive therapy)
* No rhythm abnormalities requiring permanent therapy
* No history of significant neurological or psychiatric disorders including psychotic disorders, dementia, or seizures that would preclude giving informed consent
* No active infection
* No active peptic ulcer
* No unstable diabetes mellitus or insulin-dependent type II diabetes mellitus
* No other serious illness or medical condition
* No known hypersensitivity reaction to investigational compounds or incorporated substances
* No definite contraindications for the use of corticosteroids
* No known dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency
* Must be fit for anthracycline/taxane-containing chemotherapy

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* No prior chemotherapy for any malignancy
* No prior radiation therapy for breast cancer
* No concurrent bisphosphonates during chemotherapy

  * Bisphosphonates allowed postoperatively
* No chronic treatment with corticosteroids unless it is initiated \> 6 months prior to study entry and is given at low doses (≤ 20 mg methylprednisolone or equivalent)
* No concurrent amifostine during chemotherapy
* No concurrent cardioprotectors (e.g., dexrazoxane) during chemotherapy
* No concurrent sex hormone therapy
* No concurrent virostatic agents (e.g., sorivudine or brivudine)
* No concurrent aminoglycosides
* No other concurrent experimental drugs or anticancer therapy
* At least 30 days since prior participation in another clinical trial with any investigational (not marketed) drug
B: Inclusion Criteria:

To be eligible for inclusion in the study, each patient must fulfill each of the criteria below.

* Have provided written informed consent prior to study-specific screening procedures, with the understanding that the patient has the right to withdraw from the study at any time, without prejudice.
* Be female and 18 years of age or older.
* Have histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer.
* High risk of breast cancer recurrence (\> 25% within the first 5 years without adjuvant therapy, \> 35% within the first 10 years) with one of the following:

  * Regional node positive disease (pN+; tumor cells or tumor cell clusters \< 0.2 mm in diameter are not counted as metastases);
  * Pathological N0 and PgR- and tumor size \> 20 mm.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients who fulfill any of the following criteria will be excluded:

* \> 65 years of age.
* "Special type" histology (mucinous, papillary, medullary, or tubular breast cancer), when pN0.
* ER, PgR and HER-2 status (via in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry) not determined.
* Presence of distant metastases.
* Previous chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting.
* Non-ambulatory or WHO performance status \> 1.
* Pregnant or lactating women. Women of childbearing potential (menstruating within 6 months of study entry or with no hysterectomy and age \< 55) with either a positive or no pregnancy test at baseline.
* Women of childbearing potential unless using a reliable and appropriate contraceptive method. (Post-menopausal women must have been amenorrheic for at least 6 months to be considered of non-childbearing potential).
* More than 12 weeks between breast surgery and date of randomization.
* Organ allografts with immunosuppressive therapy required.
* Major surgery (except breast surgery) within 4 weeks prior to study treatment start, or lack of complete recovery from the effects of major surgery.
* Participation in any investigational drug study within 4 weeks preceding treatment start.
* Patients with a history of uncontrolled seizures, central nervous system disorders or psychiatric disability judged by the investigator to be clinically significant precluding informed consent or interfering with compliance for oral drug intake.
* History of another malignancy within the last five years except cured basal cell carcinoma of skin or carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix.
* Clinically significant (i.e. active) cardiac disease (e.g. congestive heart failure, symptomatic coronary artery disease and cardiac arrhythmia not well controlled with medication) or myocardial infarction within the last 12 months.
* Abnormal laboratory values:

  * Hemoglobin \< 10.0 g/dL, neutrophils \< 1.5 x 10\^9/L, platelet count \< 120 x 10\^9/L;
  * Serum creatinine \> 1.5 x Upper Limit of Normal (ULN);
  * Creatinine clearance (calculated per Cockroft and Gault) \< 50 mL/min;
  * Serum bilirubin \> ULN;
  * ALAT \> 1.5 x ULN;
  * Alkaline phosphatase \> 2.5 x ULN.
* Serious uncontrolled intercurrent infections or other serious uncontrolled concomitant disease.
* Lack of physical integrity of the upper gastrointestinal tract or those who have clinically significant malabsorption syndrome.
* Inability to swallow tablets.
* Life expectancy of less than 3 months.
* Unwilling or unable to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study.
* Requirement for concurrent use of the antiviral agent sorivudine or chemically related analogues, such as brivudine.
C: 1. Patients with operable, histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the female breast.
2. TNM Stage per AJCC Cancer Staging Manual 6th edition:

   * T1-4 (Tumor size \> 1 cm), N0, M0 or T1-4, N1-3, M0
   * Patients with bilateral, synchronous breast cancer are eligible as long as one primary tumor meets the criteria above.
3. Patients with HER2/neu positive, negative or unknown disease are eligible for this trial.

   Patients whose tumors are HER2 positive by either immunohistochemistry 3+ staining or demonstrate gene amplification by FISH will be eligible to receive trastuzumab, as outlined in the protocol.
4. Age 65 years or older
5. Performance status 0-2 (Common Toxicity Criteria).
6. Prior treatment:

   * Surgical resection -

     * All tumor should be removed by either a modified radical mastectomy or a lumpectomy. Patients must be registered ≤ 84 days from mastectomy or within 84 days of axillary dissection if patient's most extensive breast surgery was a breast sparing procedure.
     * Node dissection: Axillary node dissection is not required. Management of the axilla is at the discretion of the treating physician. There is no restriction on eligibility based on the number of nodes removed.
     * Mastectomy: There should be no evidence of gross or microscopic invasive tumor at the surgical resection margins noted in the final surgery or pathology reports for patients who have had a modified radical mastectomy. Patients with close margins (tumor \< 1 mm from margin) are eligible.
     * Segmental mastectomy (lumpectomy): Although clear margins are preferable, DCIS or LCIS at the surgical resection margin will not render a patient who has undergone a segmental mastectomy ineligible for this study. Invasive tumor at the final resection margin will render a patient ineligible.
   * No prior chemotherapy for this malignancy.
   * Patients with a history of hypersensitivity to 5-FU or known dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency are not eligible to participate.
   * Patients may receive up to four weeks of tamoxifen therapy for this malignancy and still be eligible for study entry. Patients who received tamoxifen or raloxifene for purposes of chemoprevention (e.g., Breast Cancer Prevention Trial) or for other indications (including previous breast cancer) are eligible. Tamoxifen or raloxifene therapy should be discontinued before the patient is enrolled on this study.
7. Required Initial Laboratory Data:

   * Granulocytes \> 1,500/µl
   * Platelet count ≥100,000/µl
   * Calculated Creatinine Clearance \> 30 mL/min
   * Total bilirubin ≤ ULN
D: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Female patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed carcinoma of the breast.

   Every effort should be made to make paraffin embedded tissue or slides from the diagnostic biopsy or surgical specimen available for confirmation of diagnosis.
2. Patients with locally recurrent or metastatic disease who have received at least two (and not more than five) prior chemotherapeutic regimens for breast cancer, at least two of which were administered for treatment of locally recurrent and/or metastatic disease.

   Prior therapy must be documented by the following criteria prior to entry onto study:
   * Regimens must have included an anthracycline (e.g., doxorubicin, epirubicin) and a taxane (e.g., paclitaxel, docetaxel) in any combination or order. Treatment with any of these agents is not required if they are contraindicated for a certain patient.
   * One or two of these regimens may have been administered as adjuvant and/or neoadjuvant therapy, but at least 2 must have been given for relapsed or metastatic disease.
   * Patients must have proved refractory to the most recent chemotherapy, documented by progression on or within six (6) months of therapy.
   * Patients with Human Epidermal Growth Factor 2 (HER2/neu) positive tumors may additionally have been treated with trastuzumab.
   * Patients may have additionally been treated with anti-hormonal therapy.
3. Resolution of all chemotherapy or radiation-related toxicities to Grade 1 severity or lower, except for stable sensory neuropathy \<= Grade 2 and alopecia.
4. Age \>= 18 years.
5. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status of 0 to 2.
6. Life expectancy of \>= 3 months.
7. Adequate renal function as evidenced by serum creatinine \<= 2.0 mg/dL or calculated creatinine clearance \>= 40 mL/min per the Cockcroft and Gault formula.
8. Adequate bone marrow function as evidenced by absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1.5 x 10\^9/L, hemoglobin \>= 10.0 g/dL (a hemoglobin \<10.0 g/dL is acceptable if it is corrected by growth factor or transfusion), and platelet count \>= 100 x 10\^9/L.
9. Adequate liver function as evidenced by bilirubin \<= 1.5 times the upper limits of normal (ULN) and alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \<= 3 x ULN (in the case of liver metastases \<= 5 x ULN), unless there are bone metastases, in which case liver specific alkaline phosphatase must be separated from the total and used to assess the liver function instead of the total alkaline phosphatase. In case alkaline phosphatase is \>3 x ULN (in absence of liver metastases) or \> 5 x ULN (in presence of liver metastases) AND patient is known to have bone metastases, the liver specific alkaline phosphatase must be separated from the total and used to assess the liver function instead of the total alkaline phosphatase.
10. Patients willing and able to comply with the study protocol for the duration of the study.
11. Written informed consent prior to any study-specific screening procedures with the understanding that the patient may withdraw consent at any time without prejudice.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

1. Patients who have received any of the following treatments within the specified period before E7389 or TPC treatment start:

   * chemotherapy, radiation, trastuzumab or hormonal therapy within three weeks.
   * any investigational drug within four weeks.
2. Radiation therapy encompassing \> 30% of marrow.
3. Prior treatment with mitomycin C or nitrosourea.
4. Pulmonary lymphangitic involvement that results in pulmonary dysfunction requiring active treatment, including the use of oxygen.
5. Patients with brain or subdural metastases are not eligible, unless they have completed local therapy and have discontinued the use of corticosteroids for this indication for at least 4 weeks before starting treatment in this study. Any signs (e.g., radiologic) and/or symptoms of brain metastases must be stable for at least 4 weeks before starting study treatment; radiographic stability should be determined by comparing a contrast-enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging brain scan performed during screening to a prior scan performed at least 4 weeks earlier.
6. Patients with meningeal carcinomatosis.
7. Patients who are receiving anti-coagulant therapy with warfarin or related compounds, other than for line patency, and cannot be changed to heparin-based therapy if randomized to E7389 are not eligible. If a patient is to continue on mini-dose warfarin, then the prothrombin time (PT) or international normalized ratio (INR) must be closely monitored.
8. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding; women of childbearing potential with either a positive pregnancy test at screening or no pregnancy test; women of childbearing potential unless (1) surgically sterile or (2) using adequate measures of contraception in the opinion of the Investigator. Perimenopausal women must be amenorrheic for at least 12 months to be considered of non-childbearing potential.
9. Severe/uncontrolled intercurrent illness/infection.
10. Significant cardiovascular impairment (history of congestive heart failure \> New York Heart Association grade II, unstable angina or myocardial infarction within the past six months, or serious cardiac arrhythmia).
11. Patients with organ allografts requiring immunosuppression.
12. Patients with known positive HIV status.
13. Patients who have had a prior malignancy, other than previous breast cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or non-melanoma skin cancer, unless the prior malignancy was diagnosed and definitively treated \>= 5 years previously with no subsequent evidence of recurrence.
14. Patients with pre-existing neuropathy \> Grade 2.
15. Patients with a hypersensitivity to halichondrin B and/or halichondrin B chemical derivative.
16. Patients who participated in a prior E7389 clinical trial whether or not E7389 was received.
17. Patients with other significant disease or disorders that, in the Investigator's opinion, would exclude the patient from the study.

Answer: D