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Waks, Adrienne G.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5649-7229

Mayo Clinic

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Citations 6

AXALAP: Phase Ib study of axatilimab in combination with olaparib in BRCA1/2 and PALB2 -associated metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer (BC).
Hernandez, Adela Rodríguez, Buehler, Ryan, Augdahl, Grace, DeMeo, Michelle K. , Waks, Adrienne G. , Tolaney, Sara M. , Tayob, Nabihah , Guerriero, Jennifer L. , Lynce, Filipa , Yadav, Siddhartha , Rahman, Tasnim , Tung, Nadine , Garber, Judy E. , Shapiro, Geoffrey I.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 28, 2025 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: No page available

10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.tps1143 Get It

TPS1143 Background: Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPi) have revolutionized the treatment of patients (pts) with germline BRCA1/2 (gBRCA)-associated HER2-negative BC. However, resistance eventually occurs in almost all pts. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), a key component of the BC tumor microenvironment, are highly immunosuppressive and associated with poor clinical outcomes. In preclinical immunocompetent models of BRCA-associated BC, PARP inhibition induces suppressive CSF-1R+ TAMs, contributing to resistance, so that combining anti-CSF-1R therapy with PARPi significantly enhances progression free survival (PFS) compared to PARPi monotherapy (190d vs 92d). Axatilimab (SNDX-6352; Ab969.g2), a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody targeting CSF-1R, reduces TAMs, potentially slowing tumor growth and enhancing anti-tumor immunity. In the Phase I SNDX-6352-0502 study for advanced solid tumors, axatilimab showed tolerability at the highest dose (6 mg/kg), with biomarker modulation observed at doses as low as 1 mg/kg. Axatilimab is FDA-approved for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Methods: AXALAP (NCT06488378) is a non-randomized open-label, proof-of-concept phase 1 study designed to evaluate axatilimab 1mg/kg or 3mg/kg every 2 weeks in combination with olaparib 300 mg twice daily in pts with somatic or germline BRCA1/2 - and PALB2 -associated HER2-negative metastatic BC. Patients must be PARPi naïve, or have not progressed on prior PARPi, and have received up to 2 prior lines of chemotherapy for metastatic disease. Pts will receive a two-week lead-in of olaparib monotherapy, followed by combined olaparib and axatilimab. Pts will undergo mandatory tumor biopsies pre-treatment, after the 2-week olaparib lead-in, and after 2 cycles of olaparib/axatilimab, with an optional biopsy at time-of-progression. Primary objectives are to establish the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended phase 2 dose and to assess the safety and tolerability of axatilimab and olaparib. Secondary objectives include assessment of changes in CSF-1R+ CD163+ macrophage levels after olaparib monotherapy and after 2 cycles of combination treatment at the MTD; to determine the objective response rate and the median PFS of the combination per RECIST 1.1 criteria. The MTD will be determined by Bayesian Optimal Interval (BOIN) design. Pts will be treated in cohorts of 3 with a maximum of 10 at each dose. If the MTD is identified as 3mg/kg, we will complete enrollment of 10 pts at 1 mg/kg to assess biological effectiveness and clinical efficacy of the lower dose. We expect to treat up to 20 pts, who will receive study treatment until development of unacceptable toxicity or disease progression. Enrollment began on 5/2024 at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the trial will also open at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Mayo Clinic-Rochester. Clinical trial information: NCT03604692 .
Adjuvant Trastuzumab Emtansine Versus Paclitaxel Plus Trastuzumab for Stage I Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2–Positive Breast Cancer: 5-Year Results and Correlative Analyses From ATEMPT
Tarantino, Paolo , Tayob, Nabihah , Villacampa, Guillermo , Dang, Chau T. , Isakoff, Steven J. , Valero, Vicente , Faggen, Meredith, Mulvey, Therese M. , Bose, Ron , Weckstein, Douglas, Reeder‐Hayes, Katherine E. , Ramaswamy, Bhuvaneswari , Zuckerman, Dan Sayam , Hart, Lowell L., Gadi, Vijayakrishna K. , Constantine, Michael, Cheng, Kit , Garrett, Audrey Merrill, Albain, Kathy S. , DeFusco, Patricia, Ardman, Blair, Nanda, Rita , Jankowitz, Rachel C. , Rimawi, Mothaffar F. , Pohlmann, Paula R. , Poznak, Catherine Van , Forero‐Torres, Andres , Liu, Minetta C. , Ruddy, Kathryn J. , Waks, Adrienne G., DeMeo, Michelle K. , Burstein, Harold J. , Dell’Orto, Patrizia , Russo, Leila, Krause, Emma , Newhouse, Daniel , Schneider, Bryan P. , Krop, Ian E. , Tolaney, Sara M. , Curigliano, Giuseppe , Hui, Winnie W. , Kirkup, Christian , Viale, Giuseppe , Prat, Aleix , Isakoff, Steven J , Mulvey, Therese Marie , Bose, Ron , Wolff, Antonio C , Reeder-Hayes, Katherine , Rugo, Hope S , Zuckerman, Dan , Gadi, Vijayakrishna K , Cheng, Kit , Marcom, Paul Kelly , Albain, Kathy , Tung, Nadine , Nanda, Rita , Jankowitz, Rachel C , Rimawi, Mothaffar , Abramson, Vandana G , Van Poznak, Catherine , Forero-Torres, Andres , Liu, Minetta , Ruddy, Kathryn J , Burstein, Harold J , Partridge, Ann H , Krause, Emma , Kurt, Busem Binboğa , Mittendorf, EA , Schneider, Bryan , Prat, Aleix , Winer, Eric , Krop, Ian E , Tolaney, Sara , Prat, Aleix , Curigliano, Giuseppe , Pohlmann, Paula , Yardley, Denise Aysel , Wolff, Antonio C. , Rugo, Hope S. , Tung, Nadine , Abramson, Vandana G. , Waks, Adrienne G. , Partridge, Ann H. , Winer, Eric P. , Barroso‐Sousa, Romualdo , DiLullo, Molly K. , Zheng, Yue

Journal of Clinical Oncology | June 27, 2024 | Volume: 42 | Issue: 31 | Pages: 3652-3665

10.1200/jco.23.02170 Get It

PURPOSE Long-term outcomes of patients with stage I human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive breast cancer receiving adjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) remain undefined, and prognostic predictors represent an unmet need. METHODS In the ATEMPT phase II trial, patients with stage I centrally confirmed HER2-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned 3:1 to adjuvant T-DM1 for 1 year or paclitaxel plus trastuzumab (TH). Coprimary objectives were to compare the incidence of clinically relevant toxicities between arms and to evaluate invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) with T-DM1. Correlative analyses included the HER2DX genomic tool, multiomic evaluations of HER2 heterogeneity, and predictors of thrombocytopenia. RESULTS After a median follow-up of 5.8 years, 11 iDFS events were observed in the T-DM1 arm, consistent with a 5-year iDFS of 97.0% (95% CI, 95.2 to 98.7). At 5 years, the recurrence-free interval (RFI) was 98.3% (95% CI, 97.0 to 99.7), the overall survival was 97.8% (95% CI, 96.3 to 99.3), and the breast cancer-specific survival was 99.4% (95% CI, 98.6 to 100). Comparable iDFS was observed with T-DM1 irrespective of tumor size, hormone receptor status, centrally determined HER2 immunohistochemical score, and receipt of T-DM1 for more or less than 6 months. Although ATEMPT was not powered for this end point, the 5-year iDFS in the TH arm was 91.1%. Among patients with sufficient tissue for HER2DX testing (n = 187), 5-year outcomes significantly differed according to HER2DX risk score, with better RFI (98.1% v 81.8%, hazard ratio [HR], 0.10, P = .01) and iDFS (96.3% v 81.8%, HR, 0.20, P = .047) among patients with HER2DX low-risk versus high-risk tumors, respectively. CONCLUSION Adjuvant T-DM1 for 1 year leads to outstanding long-term outcomes for patients with stage I HER2-positive breast cancer. A high HER2DX risk score predicted a higher risk of recurrence in ATEMPT.
Genomics of ERBB2-Positive Breast Cancer in Young Women Before and After Exposure to Chemotherapy Plus Trastuzumab
Lipsyc-Sharf, Marla , Collins, Laura C. , Rosenberg, Shoshana M. , Ruddy, Kathryn J. , Schapira, Lidia , Come, Steven E. , Peppercorn, Jeffrey , Borges, Virginia F. , Krop, Ian E. , Kim, Dewey, Weiß, Jakob, Wagle, Nikhil , Waks, Adrienne G. , Rosenberg, Shoshana , Ruddy, Kathryn J , Schapira, Lidia , Come, Steven , Peppercorn, Jeffrey M , Borges, Virginia F , Krop, Ian E , Weiss, Jakob , Zanudo, Jorge Gomez Tejeda , Partridge, Ann H , Wagle, Nikhil , Waks, Adrienne G , Jain, Esha , Tamimi, Rulla M. , Warner, Ellen , Snow, Craig , Partridge, Ann H.

JCO Precision Oncology | June 26, 2023 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: 7 | Pages: No page available

10.1200/po.23.00076 Get It

PURPOSE Erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 ( ERBB2)–positive breast cancer (BC) is particularly common in young women. Genomic features of ERBB2-positive tumors before and after chemotherapy and trastuzumab (chemo + H) have not been described in young women and are important for guiding study of therapeutic resistance in this population. METHODS From a large prospective cohort of women age 40 years or younger with BC, we identified patients with ERBB2-positive BC and tumor tissue available before and after chemo + H. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed on each tumor and on germline DNA from blood. Tumor-normal pairs were analyzed for mutations and copy number (CN) changes. RESULTS Twenty-two women had successful WES on samples from at least one time point; 12 of these had paired sequencing results from before and after chemo + H and 10 had successful sequencing from either time point. TP53 was the only significantly recurrently mutated gene in both pre- and post-treatment samples. MYC gene amplification was observed in four post-treatment tumors. Seven of 12 patients with paired samples showed acquired and/or clonally enriched alterations in cancer-related genes. One patient had an increased clonality putative activating mutation in ERBB2. Another patient acquired a clonal hotspot mutation in TP53. Other genomic changes acquired in post-treatment specimens included alterations in NOTCH2, STIL, PIK3CA, and GATA3. There was no significant change in median ERBB2 CN (20.3 v 22.6; Wilcoxon P = .79) between paired samples. CONCLUSION ERBB2-positive BCs in young women displayed substantial genomic evolution after treatment with chemo + H. Approximately half of patients with paired samples demonstrated acquired and/or clonally enriched genomic changes in cancer genes. ERBB2 CN changes were uncommon. We identified several genes warranting exploration as potential mechanisms of resistance to therapy in this population.
Abstract PD18-01: Adjuvant Trastuzumab Emtansine Versus Paclitaxel plus Trastuzumab for Stage I HER2+ Breast Cancer: 5-year results and correlative analyses from ATEMPT (TBCRC033)
Tayob, Nabihah , Dang, Chau T. , Isakoff, Steven J. , Valero, Vicente , Faggen, Meredith, Mulvey, Therese M. , Bose, Ron , Weckstein, Douglas, Reeder‐Hayes, Katherine E. , Rugo, Hope, Ramaswamy, Bhuvaneswari , Zuckerman, Dan Sayam , Hart, Lowell L., Gadi, Vijayakrishna K. , Constantine, Michael, Cheng, Kit , Garrett, Audrey Merrill, Albain, Kathy S. , DeFusco, Patricia, Tung, Nadine, Ardman, Blair, Nanda, Rita , Jankowitz, Rachel C. , Rimawi, Mothaffar F. , Pohlmann, Paula R. , Poznak, Catherine Van , Forero-Torres, Andres , Liu, Minetta C. , Ruddy, Kathryn, Waks, Adrienne G. , DeMeo, Michelle K. , Burstein, Harold J. , Partridge, Ann, Viale, Giuseppe , Hui, Winnie W. , Schneider, Bryan P. , Krop, Ian E. , Tolaney, Sara M. , Rimawi, Mothaffar , Pohlmann, Paula , Tarantino, Paolo , Yardley, Denise Aysel , Wolff, Antonio C. , Marcom, Paul Kelly , Tung, Nadine , Abramson, Vandana G. , Ruddy, Kathryn J. , Zheng, Yue , Barroso‐Sousa, Romualdo , DiLullo, Molly K. , Curigliano, Giuseppe , Winer, Eric P. , Mittendorf, EA , Prat, Aleix

Cancer Research | March 2, 2023 | Volume: 83 | Issue: 5_Supplement | Pages: PD18-01-PD18-01

10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs22-pd18-01 Get It

Abstract Background: The ATEMPT trial primary analysis found that one year of adjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) achieved a 3-year iDFS of 97.8% for patients with stage I HER2+ breast cancer, but was not associated with fewer clinically relevant toxicities (CRTs) compared with paclitaxel and trastuzumab (TH). In this end-of-study analysis, we report 5-year survival outcomes and correlative analyses from the trial. Methods: Patients with stage I centrally confirmed HER2+ breast cancer were randomly assigned 3:1 to adjuvant T-DM1 for one year or TH and received T-DM1 3.6 mg/kg IV every 3 weeks for 17 cycles or paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 IV with weekly trastuzumab IV followed by trastuzumab for 9 months. The co-primary objectives were to compare the incidence of CRTs between the 2 arms and to evaluate iDFS in patients receiving T-DM1. To investigate proteomic correlates of recurrence, spatial proteomic analyses were performed on samples from 13 patients experiencing iDFS events (cases) and 24 matched controls using the NanoString GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler. The impact of HER2 heterogeneity on outcomes was investigated among 17 cases and 51 matched controls by fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). HER2 genetic heterogeneity was assessed by scrutinizing the whole tumor area and defined as the occurrence of HER2 gene amplification in >5% but < 50% invasive tumor cells. The risk of recurrence was evaluated centrally with the HER2DX genomic assay from 225 primary tumor samples. Germline whole genome sequencing (WGS) was conducted among 55 patients experiencing T-DM1-induced thrombocytopenia and/or bleeding and 55 matched controls to identify genomic correlates for this side effect. Results: A total of 497 patients who initiated protocol therapy were included in this analysis (383 T-DM1 and 114 TH). After a median follow up 5.8 years, among patients receiving T-DM1 there were a total of 11 iDFS events, with 3 distant recurrences. The 5-year iDFS for T-DM1 was 97.0% (95% CI, 95.3-98.8%), the 5-year recurrence-free interval (RFI) was 98.6% (95% CI: 97.4-99.8%) and the 5-year overall survival (OS) for T-DM1 was 97.8 % (95% CI, 96.3-99.3%). Although the study was not powered to evaluate the efficacy of TH, among the 114 patients receiving TH, a total of 9 iDFS events were observed, including 2 distant events; the 5-year iDFS with TH was 91.3% (95% CI: 86.0-96.9%), 5-year RFI was 93.3% (95% CI: 88.6-98.2%) and 5-year OS was 97.9% (95% CI: 95.2-100%). A total of 56 samples were evaluable for heterogeneity analyses, among which 14% (n=8) harbored HER2 genetic heterogeneity. Spatial proteomic analyses found that NF1 (adjusted p=0.72 × 10-6) and CTLA-4 (adjusted p=0.15 × 10-3) were significantly upregulated in primary samples from cases, while cleaved caspase 9, CD25, GITR, ICOS, p53 and PD-L2 were significantly upregulated in controls (all with adjusted p< 0.05). Germline WGS found that the top gene associations with thrombocytopenia and thrombocytopenia or bleeding were ALMS1 (p=0,19 × 10-3) and APBA3 (p=0,23 × 10-3), respectively, although none reaching the threshold for genome wide significance. rs62143195 and rs114169776 were the top single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with thrombocytopenia and thrombocytopenia or bleeding, respectively. Data on the impact of HER2 heterogeneity and of HER2DX score on survival outcomes will be presented. Conclusion: With longer follow-up, adjuvant T-DM1 confirmed outstanding long-term outcomes among patients with stage I HER2+ breast cancer, demonstrating a 5-year RFI of 98.6%. Spatial proteomic analyses identified a potential association between NF1 and CTLA-4 expression with recurrence. Details on the impact of HER2 heterogeneity and HER2DX assay on prognosis will be presented. Citation Format: Paolo Tarantino, Nabihah Tayob, Chau T Dang, Denise Yardley, Steven J. Isakoff, Vicente Valero, Meredith Faggen, Therese Mulvey, Ron Bose, Douglas Weckstein, Antonio C. Wolff, Katherine Reeder-Hayes, Hope Rugo, Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, Dan Zuckerman, Lowell Hart, Vijayakrishna K. Gadi, Michael Constantine, Kit Cheng, Audrey Merrill Garrett, Paul K. Marcom, Kathy S. Albain, Patricia DeFusco, Nadine Tung, Blair Ardman, Rita Nanda, Rachel C. Jankowitz, Mothaffar Rimawi, Vandana Abramson, Paula R. Pohlmann, Catherine Van Poznak, Andres Forero-Torres, Minetta C. Liu, Kathryn Ruddy, Yue Zheng, Romualdo Barroso-Sousa, Adrienne Waks, Michelle K. DeMeo, Molly K. DiLullo, Giuseppe Curigliano, Harold Burstein, Ann Partridge, Eric Winer, Giuseppe Viale, Winnie Hui, Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, Bryan P. Schneider, Aleix Prat, Ian Krop, Sara Tolaney. Adjuvant Trastuzumab Emtansine Versus Paclitaxel plus Trastuzumab for Stage I HER2+ Breast Cancer: 5-year results and correlative analyses from ATEMPT (TBCRC033) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr PD18-01.
Somatic and Germline Genomic Alterations in Very Young Women with Breast Cancer
Waks, Adrienne G. , Kim, Dewey, Jain, Esha , Snow, Craig, Kirkner, Gregory J., Rosenberg, Shoshana M., Oh, Coyin, Poorvu, Philip D., Ruddy, Kathryn J. , Tamimi, Rulla M. , Peppercorn, Jeffrey, Schapira, Lidia , Come, Steven E., Brachtel, Elena F. , Warner, Ellen, Collins, Laura C., Partridge, Ann H., Wagle, Nikhil, Borges, Virginia F , Brachtel, Elena F , Tamimi, Rulla M , Waks, Adrienne G , Kim, Dewey, Jain, Esha , Snow, Craig, Kirkner, Gregory J., Rosenberg, Shoshana M., Oh, Coyin, Poorvu, Philip D., Ruddy, Kathryn J , Peppercorn, Jeffrey, Schapira, Lidia , Come, Steven E., Warner, Ellen, Collins, Laura C., Partridge, Ann H., Wagle, Nikhil

Clinical Cancer Research | January 31, 2022 | Volume: 28 | Issue: 11 | Pages: 2339-2348

10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-2572 Get It

Abstract Purpose: Young age at breast cancer diagnosis correlates with unfavorable clinicopathologic features and worse outcomes compared with older women. Understanding biological differences between breast tumors in young versus older women may lead to better therapeutic approaches for younger patients. Experimental Design: We identified 100 patients ≤35 years old at nonmetastatic breast cancer diagnosis who participated in the prospective Young Women's Breast Cancer Study cohort. Tumors were assigned a surrogate intrinsic subtype based on receptor status and grade. Whole-exome sequencing of tumor and germline samples was performed. Genomic alterations were compared with older women (≥45 years old) in The Cancer Genome Atlas, according to intrinsic subtype. Results: Ninety-three tumors from 92 patients were successfully sequenced. Median age was 32.5 years; 52.7% of tumors were hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative, 28.0% HER2-positive, and 16.1% triple-negative. Comparison of young to older women (median age 61 years) with luminal A tumors (N = 28 young women) revealed three significant differences: PIK3CA alterations were more common in older patients, whereas GATA3 and ARID1A alterations were more common in young patients. No significant genomic differences were found comparing age groups in other intrinsic subtypes. Twenty-two patients (23.9%) in the Young Women's Study cohort carried a pathogenic germline variant, most commonly (13 patients, 14.1%) in BRCA1/2. Conclusions: Somatic alterations in three genes (PIK3CA, GATA3, and ARID1A) occur at different frequencies in young versus older women with luminal A breast cancer. Additional investigation of these genes and associated pathways could delineate biological susceptibilities and improve treatment options for young patients with breast cancer. See related commentary by Yehia and Eng, p. 2209
Genomics of HER2+ breast cancer in young women before and after exposure to chemotherapy (chemo) plus trastuzumab (H).
Waks, Adrienne G. , Jain, Esha , Collins, Laura C. , Rosenberg, Shoshana M. , Ruddy, Kathryn J. , Schapira, Lidia , Come, Steven E. , Peppercorn, Jeffrey , Wagle, Nikhil , Tamimi, Rulla M. , Borges, Virginia F. , Warner, Ellen , Snow, Craig , Partridge, Ann H. , Jain, Esha

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 27, 2019 | Volume: 37 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: 554-554

10.1200/jco.2019.37.15_suppl.554 Get It

554 Background: HER2+ breast cancer (BC) is particularly common in young women. Genomic features of HER2+ tumors before and after H-based therapy have not been described in a population of young women and may point to clinically targetable mechanisms of resistance. Methods: From a large prospective cohort of women diagnosed with BC age ≤40 years, we identified those with HER2+ BC and tumor tissue available for sequencing before and after chemo+H. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on each tumor and on germline DNA from blood. Tumor-normal pairs were analyzed for mutations and copy number (CN) changes. Evolutionary analysis was performed for patients with both pre- and post-treatment (tx) samples. Results: 22 women had successful WES samples from at least one timepoint; 13 of these had paired sequencing results both before and after chemo+H. For the majority of women, post-tx sample was following neoadjuvant chemo + H, though post-tx timepoint for other women represented locoregional or distant metastasis (Table). TP53 was the only gene that was significantly recurrently mutated in both pre- and post-tx samples. Comparison of matched pre-tx and post-tx samples demonstrated that large changes in HER2 CN over the course of tx were uncommon, only 2/13 pts had > 2-fold change in HER2 CN. Other clonal and subclonal genomic alterations were found to be acquired in the post-tx sample compared to the pre-tx sample. One patient acquired a putative activating mutation in ERBB2. Another patient acquired a clonal hotpsot mutation in TP53. MYC gene amplification was observed in 4 post-tx tumors. NOTCH2 alterations were found in post-tx biopsies from 2 different patients, and mutations in STIL were also found in post-tx biopsies from 2 patients, though the function of these mutations is not known. Conclusions: HER2+ breast tumors in young women display genomic evolution following tx with chemo+H. HER2 CN changes are uncommon, but we identified several genes that warrant exploration as potential mechanisms of resistance to therapy in this population.[Table: see text]