Detailed Description:
Radiation therapy (RT) after breast conserving surgery to improve local control and survival
is the current standard of care for patients with early breast cancer. However, breast cancer
is a heterogeneous disease, and the absolute benefit of RT in individual patients varies
substantially. Thus, a pressing priority in contemporary breast cancer management is to
tailor RT utilisation to the individual recurrence risks by identifying patients who are
unlikely to benefit from RT, thereby avoiding the morbidity and costs of over-treatment.
It is recognised that selected patients with early breast cancer are unlikely to derive
benefits from RT after breast conserving surgery. However, randomised trials have not
consistently identified patients who may safely omit RT using conventional
clinical-pathologic characteristics.
Breast cancer intrinsic subtypes distinguished by gene expression profiling are shown to be
associated with distinct clinical outcomes. There is substantial evidence supporting the
clinical validity of multigene assays including the PAM50-based Prosigna Assay that
identifies intrinsic subtypes and generates a Risk of Recurrence score (ROR) to quantify
individual risks of distant relapse. Multigene assays are increasingly integrated into
clinical practice to inform chemotherapy decision, highlighting their substantial practice
changing potential in personalising the use of RT for early breast cancer.
A recent analysis of archived tumour specimens of 1,308 patients with early breast cancer has
shown significant associations between local recurrence risk and the PAM50-defined intrinsic
subtypes and ROR score. EXPERT presents a unique opportunity of clinical and public health
importance to optimise personalised local therapy for early breast cancer through precise,
individualised quantification of local recurrence risk to identify low-risk patients for whom
RT after breast conserving surgery may be safely omitted.
Inclusion Criteria: for registration in the study:
1. Female patients aged ≥ 50 years of any menopausal status.
2. Primary tumour characteristics as assessed by conventional histopathology:
- Unifocal histologically confirmed invasive breast carcinoma
- Maximum microscopic size ≤2 cm
- Grade 1 or 2 histology
- ER and PR positive in ≥10% of tumour cells in either the biopsy or breast
conserving surgical specimen
- HER2 negative on IHC (score 0 or 1+) or in situ hybridisation
(ERBB2-amplification Ratio ERBB2/centromeres <2.0 or mean gene copy number <6).
Equivocal IHC score (2+) must be assessed by ISH.
3. Primary tumour must be resected by breast conserving surgery with microscopically
negative margins for invasive carcinoma and any associated ductal carcinoma in situ
(no cancer cells adjacent to any inked edge/surface of specimen) or re-excision
showing no residual disease.
4. Histologically confirmed negative nodal status determined by sentinel node biopsy or
axillary dissection. Patients with pN0 (i+) disease are eligible for study
participation (malignant cells ≤0.2 mm in regional lymph node(s) detected by
hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) stain or IHC, including isolated tumour cells).
5. No evidence of distant metastasis.
6. Eligible for and willing to have adjuvant endocrine therapy.
7. ECOG performance status 0-2.
8. Availability of FFPE tumour block for Prosigna (PAM50) Assay.
For randomization to the study, patients must fulfill all of the following criteria:
1. Primary tumour characteristics as assessed by Prosigna (PAM50) Assay:
- Luminal A intrinsic subtype
- ROR score ≤60
Exclusion Criteria:
Any one of the following is regarded as a criterion for exclusion from the study:
1. Primary tumour characteristics:
- Presence of multifocal or multicentric invasive carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in
situ;
- Evidence of clinical or pathologic T4 disease (extension to the chest wall,
oedema or ulceration of skin, satellite skin nodules, inflammatory carcinoma);
- The invasive component of the primary tumour is present as micro-invasion only;
- Grade 3 histology;
- Presence of lymphovascular invasion
2. Contra-indication or unwillingness to have adjuvant endocrine therapy.
3. Planned to receive adjuvant chemotherapy or biologic therapy after breast cancer
surgery, i.e. any systemic therapy other than endocrine therapy is not permitted. Any
therapy unrelated to cancer is permitted at the discretion of investigators.
4. Treated with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy, chemotherapy or biologic therapy prior to
breast cancer surgery.
5. Prior breast or thoracic RT for any condition.
6. Pre-operative breast imaging evidence of disease aside from the primary carcinoma
resected by breast conserving surgery.
7. Concurrent invasive breast carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ (synchronous or
metachronous).
8. Prior diagnosis of invasive breast carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ in either
breast irrespective of disease free interval.
9. A diagnosis of non-breast malignancy <5 years prior to randomisation with the
following exceptions:
- Patients who are diagnosed with carcinoma in situ of cervix, endometrium or
colon; melanoma in situ; and basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin at any
time prior to randomisation are not excluded from study participation.
- Patients who are diagnosed with other non-breast malignancy ≥5 years prior to
randomisation and without evidence of disease recurrence are not excluded from
study participation.
10. Significant comorbidity precluding definitive RT for breast cancer (e.g.
cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus).
11. Life expectancy <10 years.
12. Documented mutation of BRCA1, BRCA2 or TP53, or at high genetic risk of breast cancer.
13. Pregnant or lactating patients.
14. Inability to be registered to the study ≤8 weeks after the last surgical procedure for
breast cancer.
15. Inability to commence RT (if randomised to receive RT) no later than 12 weeks from the
last surgical procedure for breast cancer.
16. Inability to provide written informed consent.
17. Psychiatric, addictive, or any disorder that precludes compliance with protocol
requirements.
Primary outcome:
1. Local recurrence rate after breast conserving surgery (Time Frame - 10 years):
The time from randomisation to the date of local recurrence (LR) as a site of first recurrence.
Secondary outcome:
1. Local-regional recurrence-free interval (LRRFI) (Time Frame - 10 years):
Time from randomisation to the date of local or regional recurrence as a site of first recurrence.
2. Distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI) (Time Frame - 10 years):
Time from randomisation to the date of distant recurrence, regardless of occurrence of any intervening local or regional recurrence, contralateral breast cancer or second (non-breast) primary invasive cancer.
3. Disease free survival including DCIS (DFS-DCIS) (Time Frame - 10 years):
Time from randomisation to date of first evidence of local (invasive breast carcinoma or DCIS), regional or distanct recurrence; contralateral breast cancer (invasive breast carcinoma or DCIS); second (non-breast) primary invasive cancer; or death.
4. Invasive disease free survival (iDFS) (Time Frame - 10 years):
Time from randomisation to date of first evidence of local (invasive breast carcinoma), regional or distanct recurrence; contralateral breast cancer (invasive breast carcinoma); second (non-breast) primary invasive cancer; or death.
5. Recurrence-free interval (Time Frame - 10 years):
Time from randomisation to the date of local, regional or distant recurrence as a site of first recurrence.
6. Overall survival (OS) (Time Frame - 10 years):
Time from randomisation to date of death from any cause.
7. Salvage RT or mastectomy rate (Time Frame - 10 years):
Time from randomisation to the receipt of salvage RT or mastectomy, individually and in combination (one or the other) as a composite endpoint.
8. Adverse events for patients (Time Frame - 5 years):
Adverse events during treatment (up to 5 years of endocrine therapy) assessed using NCI CTCAE v4.0.
9. Assessment of the impact of endocrine therapy (Time Frame - 5 years):
FACT-ES measure of endocrine symptoms.
- No Intervention: A: Radiation Therapy & endocrine therapy
Patients randomized to Arm A will receive standard radiation therapy and adjuvant endocrine therapy (standard of care). - Experimental: B: No Radiation Therapy (ET only)
Patients randomized to Arm B will not receive radiation therapy (omission of radiation therapy) and receive adjuvant endocrine therapy only.
- Omission of radiation therapy:
Omission of radiation therapy (adjuvant endocrine therapy only).
Quelle: ClinicalTrials.gov
