A phase II study of ixabepilone and trastuzumab for metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer

Abstract

Background: A multicenter NCI-sponsored phase II study was conducted to analyze the safety and efficacy of the combination of ixabepilone with trastuzumab in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. Patients and methods: Two cohorts were enrolled: cohort 1 had received no prior chemotherapy or trastuzumab for metastatic disease and cohort 2 had received 1-2 prior trastuzumab-containing regimens for metastatic disease. Patients in both cohorts received ixabepilone 40 mg/m2 as a 3-h infusion and trastuzumab on day 1 of a 21-day cycle. Tumor biomarkers that may predict response to trastuzumab were explored. Results: Thirty-nine women entered the study with 15 patients in cohort 1 and 24 patients in cohort 2. Across both cohorts, the overall RR was 44%, with a clinical benefit rate (CR + PR + SD for at least 24 weeks) of 56%. Treatmentrelated toxic effects included neuropathy (grade >2, 56%), leukopenia (grade >2, 26%), myalgias (grade >2, 21%), neutropenia (grade >2, 23%), and anemia (grade >2, 18%). Conclusions: This represents the first study of the combination of ixabepilone with trastuzumab for the treatment of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. These results suggest that the combination has encouraging activity as first and subsequent line therapy for metastatic breast cancer. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved.