Abstract PO1-06-02: Solti-1716 TATEN phase II trial: Targeting non-Luminal disease by PAM50 with pembrolizumab and paclitaxel in Hormone Receptor-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC)
Authors: Aleix Prat, Benedetta Conte, Fara Brasó-Maristany, Nuria Chic, Montserrat Muñoz, Cristina Hernando, Manuel Alva, Silvia Vazquez, Salvador Blanch, Mafalda Oliveira, Esther Fernández, Oleguer Castillo, Patricia Galván, Ángela Aguirre, Esther Sanfeliu, Lorea Villanueva, Tomás Pascual, Eva Ciruelos
Journal: Cancer Research (2024)

Abstract Background Within HR+/HER2-negative breast cancer, PAM50 non-luminal tumors (HER2-enriched [HER2-E] and Basal-like) have higher expression of proliferation and immune-related genes and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and might benefit from immunotherapy. Here, we report the efficacy, safety, and correlative analysis data of the TATEN trial, the first study designed to evaluate pembrolizumab and paclitaxel in HR+/HER2-negative, PAM50 non-luminal, ABC. Methods TATEN trial (NCT04251169) is a single-arm, multicenter, phase II study evaluating pembrolizumab in combination with paclitaxel in patients with HR+/HER2-, PAM50 non-luminal ABC. Key inclusion criteria include progression to prior CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i), presence of measurable disease, no prior chemotherapy for ABC, ECOG 0-1, and non-luminal metastatic disease by PAM50. Included patients received pembrolizumab at 200 mg every 3 weeks (beginning at cycle 1) in combination with weekly paclitaxel at 80 mg/m2 beginning at cycle 2. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) according to RECIST V1.1. in patients who received at least one dose of combination treatment and had a first, post-baseline tumor assessment (evaluable population). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), clinical benefit rate (CBR), safety, and predictive biomarkers. The study was based on a Simon two-stage design. Stage I of the trial would be considered successful if at least 6 of 15 patients achieved a partial response and/or complete response. In that case, the trial would recruit up to 46 evaluable patients for a target ORR ≥ 41%. Metastatic biopsies from patients enrolled in pre-screening were also evaluated for tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and were further analyzed with an expression panel of 192 genes, including PDL1 and PD1. Results From July 2020 to December 2021, 132 tumors were screened, and 27 PAM50 non-luminal tumors were identified (20%). Non-luminal tumors trended to have higher PDL1 expression (p=0.090) and TILs (p=0.084) compared to luminal tumors, while no difference was observed for PD1 (p=0.850). Of 20 recruited patients in the study (stage I+II), 18 were evaluable for the primary endpoint. Baseline characteristics were as follows: median age 55 years, ECOG 0 55%, de novo MBC 22%, and visceral disease 72.2%. Eleven patients had received paclitaxel treatment in the adjuvant setting. Regarding PAM50 subtype, 2 patients had basal-like and 16 HER2-E tumors. At the time of data cut-off (June 2023), 13 patients (72.2%) had stopped their treatment because of progressive disease and 3 (16.6%) due to toxicity. Two patients (11.1%) were still on treatment. The ORR was 61.1 % (11 of 18, 95% CI 35.7-82.7). CBR was 88.9% (16 of 18, 95% CI 65.3-98.6), and median PFS was 8.3 months (95% CI 7.3 – 14.1). Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of any grade (G) occurred in 19 patients (95%), while 45% of patients experienced G3 TRAEs. No G4 or G5 TRAEs were reported in the evaluable population. Gene expression analysis was successful for all recruited patients (n=20). High expression of the PAM50 luminal A signature (p=0.049), and the luminal genes PGR (p=0.028) and RRAGA (p=0.038) were associated with worse PFS (univariate analyses). The pan-leucocyte receptor CD84 (p=0.028) was associated with better PFS (univariate analysis). Conclusions Pembrolizumab in combination with paclitaxel is safe and exhibits promising efficacy outcomes in patients with CDK4/6i resistant HR+/HER2- ABC with a PAM50 non-luminal subtype. Although meeting the criteria for stage II, the enrollment was stopped prematurely due to the lack of funding and pembrolizumab supply. More correlative analyses will be presented at the conference. This study was funded in part by MSD. Citation Format: Aleix Prat, Benedetta Conte, Fara Brasó-Maristany, Nuria Chic, Montserrat Muñoz, Cristina Hernando, Manuel Alva, Silvia Vazquez, Salvador Blanch, Mafalda Oliveira, Esther Fernández, Oleguer Castillo, Patricia Galván, Ángela Aguirre, Esther Sanfeliu, Lorea Villanueva, Tomás Pascual, Eva Ciruelos. Solti-1716 TATEN phase II trial: Targeting non-Luminal disease by PAM50 with pembrolizumab and paclitaxel in Hormone Receptor-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO1-06-02.