Conditions: Invasive Breast Cancer
Keywords: Breast cancer
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 32
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This study will evaluate the rate of pathological complete response (pCR) to the sequential therapy of Doxil, paclitaxel, and cyclophosphamide with concurrent Avastin for patients with locally advanced invasive (T2,T3, Nany, M0) breast carcinoma. Also, the study will evaluate the clinical and subclinical cardiotoxic effect(s) of this regimen, assess how feasible and safe the study is. Survival without any progression of disease will also be calculated.

A regimen of chemotherapy will be given to replicate the high rate of pCR seen with conventional chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer. Doxil will substitute the normally given doxorubicin. It is expected that the low effect or minimal effect of Doxil on cardiac function will minimize any additional risk of cardiotoxicity from Avastin. It is expected that clinical and subclinical rates of cardiotoxicity will be very low at the total doses to be given in this clinical trial.

Detailed description:
In this trial, an attempt will be made to replicate the high rate of pathological complete response seen after conventional chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer, using a regimen in which Doxil is substituted for conventional doxorubicin. We expect that the low or minimal effect on cardiac function produced by Doxil will minimize any additional risk of cardiotoxicity from Avastin. We will also measure left ventricular ejection fractions before and after treatment to see if the substantial rate of subclinical cardiotoxicity reported by Swain et al 5 and Perez et al 7 can be avoided. The reported rates of cardiotoxicity after treatment with relatively high doses of Doxil are substantially lower than those of doxorubicin; few data are available to estimate the rate of cardiotoxicity of Doxil in patients treated with only about 100 mg/m2 total accumulated dose, the dose to be utilized here. The drug has been used in a few patients in the primary systemic therapy setting, with no reported clinical cardiotoxicity.

The expectation is that clinical and subclinical rates of cardiotoxicity will be very low or negligible at the total doses to be used here.

Arms:
arm 1: Two stage phase II single arm trial to evaluate the pathologic complete response rate to sequential dose dense chemotherapy using Doxil 25 mg/M2 iv and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3, then paclitaxel 175 mg/M2 iv and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3, then cyclophosphamide 600 mg/M2 iv and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3, in patients with locally advanced invasive breast cancer.

Interventions: intervention 1: Doxil, Paclitaxel, Cyclophosphamide, Avastin
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Regimen A: Doxil 25 mg/M2 iv and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3, then paclitaxel 175 mg/M2 i.v. and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3, then cyclophosphamide 600 mg/M2 i.v. and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3 . Patients who experience \<pCR to primary chemotherapy will receive an additional year of Avastin 15 mg/kg iv every 3 weeks, beginning 6-8 weeks after operation.

Regimen B: Doxil 30 mg/M2 iv and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3, then paclitaxel 175 mg/M2 i.v. and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3, then cyclophosphamide 600 mg/M2 i.v. and Avastin 10 mg/kg iv every 2 weeks x 3. Patients who experience \<pCR to primary chemotherapy will receive an additional year of Avastin15 mg/kg iv every 3 weeks, beginning 6-8 weeks after operation.

Protocol document: