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Veer, Laura J. van’t

0000-0002-9838-8298

Mayo Clinic

University of California, San Francisco

Citations 53

Cemiplimab and Fianlimab With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Early-Stage High-Risk ERBB2 -Negative Breast Cancer
Isaacs, Claudine, Nanda, Rita, Yau, C, Chien, A. Jo, Hershman, Dawn L., Stringer-Reasor, Erica M., Wallace, Anne M., Clark, Amy S., Kennedy, Laura C., Sanford, Amy, Boughey, JC , Albain, Kathy S. , Pusztai, Lajos, Kalinsky, Kevin M., Beckwith, Heather, Williams, Nicole O., Han, Hyo S., Falkson, Carla, Arora, Mili, Pohlmann, Paula R., Rozenblit, Mariya, Marshall, Natalie, Chen, Yunn-Yi, McGuinness, Julia E., Howard, Frederick M., Chen, Nan, Khoury, Katia, Lancaster, Rachael, Douglas, Emily, Wei, Mei, Mainor, Candace, LeStage, Barbara, Matthews, Jeffrey B. , Perlmutter, J, Symmans, W. Fraser, Yee, Douglas, Hylton, Nola M., Veer, Laura van ‘t , Rugo, Hope S., Berry, Donald A., Esserman, Laura J., Isaacs, Claudine , Yau, Christina , Chien, A. Jo , Hershman, Dawn L. , Stringer-Reasor, Erica , Thomas, Alexandra , Vaklavas, Christos , Clark, Amy S. , Kennedy, Laura Carpin , Pusztai, Lajos , Kalinsky, Kevin M. , Beckwith, Heather , Han, Hyo S , Falkson, Carla I. , Arora, Mili, Elias, Anthony , Pohlmann, Paula R. , Rozenblit, Mariya , Trivedi, Meghna S. , McGuinness, Julia Elizabeth , Howard, F , Khoury, Katia , Yeung, Kay T. , Douglas, Emily, Mainor, Candace , LeStage, Barbara , Delson, Amy , Asare, Adam L. , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Hirst, Gillian L. , Symmans, W. Fraser , Yee, Douglas , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Rugo, Hope S. , DeMichele, Angela , Berry, Donald A., Esserman, Laura J.

JAMA Oncology | July 30, 2026 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: No issue available | Pages: No page available

10.1001/jamaoncol.2026.2576 Get It

Importance Although adding immune checkpoint inhibitors to neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves outcomes in high-risk early-stage breast cancer, opportunities remain to further enhance response. Dual checkpoint blockade offers a potential strategy to further enhance efficacy. Objective To evaluate the combination of anti−programmed cell death 1 protein (PD-1) cemiplimab and anti−lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3) added to neoadjuvant therapy in ERBB2 -negative early-stage, high-risk breast cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants The I-SPY2 (Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response With Imaging and Molecular Analysis 2) is an ongoing randomized clinical platform trial being conducted at multiple US clinical sites including patients with early-stage (II or III) ERBB2 -negative, high-risk breast cancer. Participants, continuously enrolled since 2010, were adaptively randomized from February 2, 2020, to December 9, 2021, to one of several experimental neoadjuvant therapies or control groups based on receptor subtypes defined by hormone receptor (HR), ERBB2 status, and MammaPrint (Agendia Inc) molecular risk, categorized as high (MP1) or ultrahigh (MP2). Data were analyzed from January 1, 2022, to August 5, 2025. Interventions Both groups received weekly paclitaxel for 12 weeks, then doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by surgery; concomitant with paclitaxel, the intervention group also received 4 doses of cemiplimab and fianlimab (PCF) every 3 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures Pathologic complete response (pCR). Treatments graduated when they achieved 85% bayesian probability of success in a subtype-specific phase 3 trial. Pathway-specific biomarkers were assessed for response prediction. Results A total of 78 participants (mean [SD] age, 47 [39-54] years) were randomized to the intervention group, with 350 participants (mean [SD] age, 48 [39-57] years) randomized to the historical control population. PCF graduated in all clinical signatures, with pCR rates vs control of 44% (95% CI, 34%-53%) vs 21% (95% CI, 17%-25%) in all ERBB2 , 53% (95% CI, 39%-67%) vs 29% (95% CI, 22%-36%) in triple-negative, and 36% (95% CI, 23%-49%) vs 14% (95% CI, 9%-19%) in HR-positive and ERBB2 -negative disease. Among the total participants, 16 (21%) experienced adrenal insufficiency, including hypophysitis (11% grade 3 or 4), mostly occurring after immunotherapy completion. PCF was found to be highly effective in the subset of patients with immune signature positive status (ImPrint positive). Conclusions and Relevance In this randomized clinical trial, the combination of PD-1 and anti−LAG-3 inhibition with standard NAC was effective in early-stage ERBB2 -negative breast cancer, particularly in patients displaying a positive ImPrint immune signature. These results warrant further definitive trials. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01042379
Neoadjuvant rilvegostomig (R) + trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) in high-risk HER2-negative breast cancer: Results from the I-SPY 2.2 trial.
O'Sullivan, Ciara Catherine, Kalinsky, Kevin, Yau, C, Wallace, Anne M., Chien, Jo, Yee, D, Nanda, Rita, Isaacs, C, Omene, Coral, Kulkarni, T, Swigart, Lamorna Brown, Perlmutter, J, Hylton, N, Borowsky, Alexander D., Rugo, H S, Veer, Laura van't, Esserman, L J, O’Sullivan, Ciara C. , Kalinsky, Kevin M. , Yau, Christina , Yee, Douglas , Boughey, Judy C. , Borges, Virginia F. , Isaacs, Claudine , Omene, Coral , Kulkarni, Tejaswini , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Hylton, Nola, Shatsky, Rebecca , Veer, Laura J. van’t

Journal of Clinical Oncology | June 3, 2026 | Volume: 44 | Issue: 17_suppl | Pages: No page available

10.1200/jco.2026.44.17_suppl.lba514 Get It

LBA514 Background: Preclinical and clinical data show that antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) such as T-DXd may synergize with immunotherapy. Rilvegostomig (R) is a monovalent, Fc-reduced, dual checkpoint bispecific IgG1 monoclonal antibody against PD-1 and TIGIT receptors. R + T-DXd was evaluated as neoadjuvant therapy for up to 4 cycles. Methods: I-SPY2.2 is a phase II neoadjuvant trial with three neoadjuvant sequences (Blocks A/B/C). All HER2-negative subtypes were eligible for R + T-DXd in Block A. Predicted responders at the end of Block A or B could undergo surgery; otherwise, they continued to Block B +/- C. Block B pts received paclitaxel +/- carboplatin +/- pembrolizumab and Block C pts doxorubicin + cyclophosphamide (AC) +/- pembrolizumab, HR+ immune+ received IO in Blocks B/C. Results are analyzed by receptor and response predictive subtypes (RPS), that include expression-based immune, and luminal signatures with hormone receptor (HR) and HER2 status. Some pts were randomized to a control regimen (skipping R + T-DXd in block A and starting in block B). To minimize risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD) that could lead to treatment discontinuation, pts underwent pulmonary function tests and high-resolution chest CTs every 6 weeks. Abnormalities were reviewed in real time. The primary endpoint was pathologic complete response (pCR), within each RPS and HR/HER2 signature, with estimated pCR (EpCR) rates compared to subtype-specific block A goal rates and control pts in those groups. Other endpoints included safety and treatment discontinuation. Results: 105 pts were treated with R + T-DXd in block A, while 31 pts were randomized to the control regimen. Block A EpCR rate was 57% in the 12 HR+Immune+ pts vs a pre-specified goal of 15% (posterior probability, PP > .99). In 35 HR-Immune+ pts EpCR was 52% vs a pre-specified goal of 40% (PP = .87). No other groups (Immune-) had a PP > .85 for their respective pCR goal rate. HER2-IHC was 0 (27.6%), 1+ (49.5%) and 2+ (22.9%) in the treatment arm vs. 37.7%, 37.7%, and 24.7% in the control arm, with no difference in distribution between arms in immune subtypes. The most common adverse events in Block A were fatigue (84.8%), nausea (81.0%) and alopecia (58.1%). ILD was the most common adverse event of special interest in Block A and overall, occurring in 12 pts (11.4%; 7G1, 4G2, 1G3) during Block A and in 3 pts (G1, 2.9%) in other Blocks. 8 pts discontinued T-DXd + R due to ILD and proceeded to the next Block. Conclusions: When considering the full treatment strategy including block B and C regimens, experimental strategies had similar EpCR rates vs. controls in immune+ subtypes but block A rates exceeded pre-defined goal thresholds. This infers that treatment beginning with R + T-DXd has equivalent efficacy to standard of care for immune+ pts, but 64% pts with pCR skip chemotherapy (Block B) and 97% avoid AC (Block C). R + T-DXd participants avoided persistent ILD. Clinical trial information: NCT01042379 .
Identification of Early Symptoms Associated with Subsequent Immune-related Adverse Events in the I-SPY clinical trial
Basu, A. , Umashankar, Saumya, Melisko, Michelle, Roy, Ritu , Yau, C, Pusztai, L., Chien, A. Jo, Liu, Minetta, Soliman, Hatem, Isaacs, Claudine, Shatsky, Rebecca, Stringer-Reasor, E, Robinson, PA, Kalinsky, Kevin, Thomas, Alexandra, Musthafa, Mina, Asare, Adam, DeMichele, Angela, Veer, Laura van't, Yee, Douglas, Hylton, NM, Olshen, Adam B. , Perlmutter, Jane , Cohen, Ronald , Quandt, Zoe , Esserman, Laura, Rugo, Hope, Nanda, Rita, Umashankar, Saumya , Melisko, Michelle, Yau, Christina , Pusztai, Lajos , Han, Hyo S , Soliman, Hatem, Isaacs, Claudine , Shatsky, Rebecca , Stringer-Reasor, Erica , Yeung, Kay T. , Kalinsky, Kevin M. , Philip, Errol James , Hirst, Gillian L. , DeMichele, Angela , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Yee, Douglas , Hershman, Dawn L.

No container title available | February 11, 2026 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: No issue available | Pages: No page available

10.21203/rs.3.rs-8689063/v1 Get It

Abstract Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors can result in serious, long-lasting immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Early identification of symptoms predictive of irAEs could enhance monitoring and timely intervention. This study assessed whether symptoms within the first 8 weeks of treatment could predict subsequent development of immune-related adrenal insufficiency(AI) or hypothyroidism. Methods This retrospective cohort study analyzed prospectively collected data from the I-SPY2 trial, a phase 2 platform trial for high-risk stage II/III breast cancer across 30 U.S. sites. The cohort included 482 women treated with experimental immunotherapy agents concurrent with weekly paclitaxel neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The primary outcomes were grade ≥ 1 hypothyroidism or AI, adjudicated by an independent safety group, up to 1-year post-treatment. Symptoms and irAEs were assessed using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. Symptom burden was quantified as area under the curve (AUC) based on symptom grade and duration. Predictive modeling was performed using logistic regression and ROC analysis; symptom enrichment between cases and controls was evaluated using Fisher’s exact tests. Results Among 482 participants, 107 (22.2%) developed irAEs, with hypothyroidism (n = 61, 12.7%) occurring more frequently than AI (n = 38, 7.9%) at medians of 99 and 105 days from treatment initiation, respectively. Symptom enrichment analysis identified early predictive symptoms. Fatigue (17.2% vs 6.8%, p = 0.011) and rash (20.7% vs 7.8%, p = 0.0037) were predictive of hypothyroidism, while diarrhea (45.9% vs 31%, p = 0.048), constipation (5.4% vs 0.2%, p = 0.018), and taste changes (5.4% vs 0.5%, p = 0.034) were associated with AI. A predictive model demonstrated moderate performance (AUC 0.65 for AI, p < 0.0001; AUC 0.61 for hypothyroidism, p = 0.012). Model accuracy in an external validation cohort was 72.8% for AI and 74.7% for hypothyroidism. Conclusions This study presents a predictive framework to identify patients at risk for adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism as irAEs, enabling personalized care and proactive intervention to improve treatment outcomes and safety.
Enhancing Clinical Cancer Research Through Sharing of Data and Biospecimens
Wildiers, Hans, O’Reilly, Séamus , Cauwenberge, Josephine Van , Arahmani, Amal, Arteaga, Carlos L. , Bédard, Philippe L. , Bliss, Judith M. , Boussis, Panayota, Caballero, Carmela, Cameron, David , Carrasco, Eva , Casas, Ana, Chua, Boon , DeMichele, Angela, Esserman, Laura, Hodgdon, Christine, Ignatiadis, Michail, Kok, Marleen , Lacombe, Denis, Linderholm, Barbro, Loi, Sherene, MacKenzie, Mairead, Maués, Julia , Meheus, Lydie , Neven, Patrick, Parsons, Heather A. , Piccart, Martine , Pusztai, Lajos, Razis, E. , Schumacher-Wulf, Eva, Spanic, Tania, Tutt, Andrew , Veer, Laura van ‘t , Werutsky, Gustavo, Yee, Douglas , Zaman, Khalil , Desmedt, Christine , Bliss, Judith , Yee, Douglas , Adam, Virginie Sarah , Brain, Etienne G.C. , Buyse, Marc , Cameron, David, Cardoso, Fátima , Curigliano, Giuseppe , Floris, Giuseppe , Goetz, Matthew P. , Goulioti, Theodora , Haibe‐Kains, Benjamin , Hodgdon, Christine, Linderholm, Barbro Kristina , Lord, Christopher J. , MacKenzie, Mairead, Needham, Judy , Neven, Patrick , Pusztai, Lajos , Saji, Shigehira , Sonke, Gabe S. , Spanic, Tania, Tannock, Ian F. , Urruticoechea, Ander , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Vaz-Luís, Inês , Werutsky, Gustavo

JAMA Oncology | December 18, 2025 | Volume: 12 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 200

10.1001/jamaoncol.2025.5376 Get It

Importance Molecular analyses of biospecimens collected from study participants are essential for identifying biomarkers that can tailor treatments to specific subsets of patients who are most likely to benefit. Sharing of data and biospecimens from clinical trials enables personalized, patient-centric use of cancer therapies and accelerates the development of new treatments. Objective To describe obstacles to sharing data and biospecimens and to propose strategies to enhance access and collaboration. Evidence Review This is a Special Communication authored by 53 academic investigators and patient representatives from the breast cancer community with extensive experience in conducting clinical and translational research. The article also evaluates the impact of biomarker research on specifying responsive subpopulations in the 29 registrational clinical trials that have led to approval of a new drug for treatment of breast cancer between 2017 and 2024. Findings Clinical trial participants are increasingly asked to provide tissue and/or body fluid biospecimens for biomarker research that is typically controlled by the sponsoring pharmaceutical company, but published biomarker studies are rare. Among 29 breast cancer registrational studies reported in the past 8 years, none resulted in biomarker research that restricted a drug’s approved indication. Herein, strategies to maximize the value of clinical data and biospecimens contributed by participants are proposed, thereby supporting the shared goals of the pharmaceutical industry and academia to improve patient care. These strategies include (1) establishing coleadership structures involving academia and patients in clinical trial design and conduct, (2) ensuring that informed consent forms state that data and biospecimens will be shared with academia for future research, (3) requiring the sharing of clinical data as a condition for regulatory approval, and (4) enabling access to biospecimens and translational research data for independent studies on biomarkers that may indicate drug efficacy and toxicity. Conclusions and Relevance Data and biospecimen sharing from registrational trials has been suboptimal. Improving clinical data, biospecimens, and biospecimens’ related data sharing requires concrete actions and a multidimensional stakeholder approach to accelerate the impact of clinical cancer research on the quality of patient care.
Immune Subtyping Identifies Patients With Hormone Receptor–Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer Who Respond to Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy (IO): Results From Five IO Arms of the I-SPY2 Trial
Wolf, Denise M. , Yau, Christina , Glas, Annuska M. , Barcaru, Andrei, Kuilman, Midas M. , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Hirst, Gillian L. , Basu, A. , Magbanua, Mark Jesus M. , Sayaman, Rosalyn W. , Huppert, Laura A. , Investigators, I-SPY2, Borowsky, Alexander D. , Pohlmann, Paula R. , Clark, Amy S. , Yee, Douglas , Perlmutter, Jane , Petricoin, Emanuel F. , Chien, A. Jo , Stringer-Reasor, Erica , Liu, Minetta C. , Nanda, Rita , Veer, Laura van ‘t , Melisko, Michelle , Albain, Kathy S. , Robinson, Patricia A. , Lo, Simon S. , Potter, David J. , Beckwith, Heather , Haddad, Tufia C. , Kemmer, Kathleen, Lu, Janice , Williams, Nicole , Ellis, Erin D. , Sanford, Amy, Sanft, Tara, Viscusi, Rebecca K., Arora, Mili, Northfelt, Donald W. , Haley, Barbara , Yung, Rachel L. , Mayer, Ingrid, Khan, Qamar J. , Edmiston, Kirsten K., Glas, Annuska , Mittempergher, Lorenza , Brown-Swigart, Lamorna , Hirst, Gillian L , Basu, Amrita , Magbanua, Mark J M , Sayaman, Rosalyn , Huppert, Laura , Delson, Amy , Symmans, W Fraser , Pohlmann, Paula , Rugo, Hope S , Clark, Amy S , Yee, Douglas , DeMichele, Angela , Petricoin, Emmanuel F , Chien, Jo , Stringer-Reasor, Erica , Shatsky, Rebecca , Liu, Minetta , Soliman, Hatem Hussein , Isaacs, Claudine , Nanda, Rita , Hylton, Nola M. , Pusztai, Lajos , Esserman, Laura J , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Campbell, Michael, Investigators, I-SPY2, Symmans, W. Fraser , Rugo, Hope S. , DeMichele, Angela , Shatsky, Rebecca , Han, Hyo S , Isaacs, Claudine , Pusztai, Lajos , Esserman, Laura J. , Mukhtar, Rita A. , Wallace, Anne M. , Yeung, Kay T. , Olopade, Olufunmilayo I. , Potter, David, Blaes, Anne , Boughey, Judy C. , Elias, Anthony , Mitri, Zahi Ibrahim , Lang, Julie E. , Thomas, Alexandra , Trivedi, Meghna S. , Hershman, Dawn L. , Meisel, Jane Lowe , Kalinsky, Kevin M. , Vaklavas, Christos , Sanft, Tara , Arora, Mili, Falkson, Carla I. , Murthy, Rashmi Krishna

JCO Precision Oncology | June 17, 2025 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: 9 | Pages: No page available

10.1200/po-24-00776 Get It

PURPOSE Neoadjuvant immunotherapy (IO) has become the standard of care for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but not yet for other subtypes. We previously developed a clinical-grade mRNA-based immune classifier (ImPrint) predicting response to IO that is now being used in I-SPY2.2 as part of the response predictive subtypes. We report the performance of ImPrint in hormone receptor–positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative (HR+HER2–) patients from five IO arms. METHODS A total of 204 HR+HER2– (MammaPrint high-risk) patients from five IO arms (anti–PD-1, anti–PD-L1/poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase inhibitor combination, anti–PD-1/toll-like receptor 9 dual-IO combination, and anti–PD-1 ± lymphocyte activation gene 3 dual-IO combination) and 191 patients from the chemotherapy-only control arm were included in this analysis. Patients were classified as ImPrint+ (likely sensitive) versus ImPrint– (likely resistant), using pretreatment mRNA. Performance of ImPrint for predicting pathologic complete response (pCR) to IO-containing arms was characterized and compared with tumor grade (III), MammaPrint (ultra) High2 risk (MP2), and estrogen receptor (ER)-low (ER ≤ 10%). RESULTS Overall, the pCR rate across the five IO arms was 33%. 26% of HR+HER2– patients were ImPrint+, and pCR rates with IO were 75% in ImPrint+ versus 17% in ImPrint–, with the highest pCR rate >90% in a dual-IO arm. In the control arm, pCR rates were 33% in ImPrint+ and 8% in ImPrint–. Tumor grade (III), MP2, and ER-low showed pCR rates in IO of 45%, 56%, and 63%, respectively, with lower pCR odds ratios (OR < 7.5) compared with ImPrint (OR = 14.5). CONCLUSION Using an accurate selection strategy, HR+HER2– patients could achieve pCR rates similar to what is seen with best neoadjuvant therapies in TNBC and HER2+ (ie, pCR rate >65%-70%). ImPrint, an Food and Drug Administration IDE-enabled assay, may represent a way to identify HR+HER2– patients for IO that best balances likely benefit versus risk of serious immune-related adverse events.
I-SPY2 endocrine optimization pilot (EOP): Neoadjuvant lasofoxifene (Laso) in molecularly selected patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+)/HER2 negative (HER2-) stage 2/3 breast cancer (BC).
Wei, Mei , Veer, Laura van ‘t , Alkhafaji, Silver , Hirst, Gillian L. , Chen, Nan , Borowsky, Alexander D. , Chien, Jo, Hirst, Gillian L , Elias, Anthony , Giridhar, Karthik V. , Goetz, Matthew P. , Mukhtar, Rita A. , Vaklavas, Christos , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Rugo, Hope S. , Symmans, W. Fraser , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Onishi, Natsuko , Yee, Douglas , Hylton, Nola M. , Esserman, Laura J.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 28, 2025 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 612-612

10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.612 Get It

612 Background: EOP, an I-SPY2 sub-study, evaluates the tolerability and activity of novel endocrine strategies in stage 2/3 breast cancer (BC) patients (pts) predicted to have lower chemotherapy benefit. Laso, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), has shown favorable toxicity profile and activity in HR+/HER2- endocrine-resistant metastatic BC. Methods: Pts with Stage 2/3 HR+/HER2-, MammaPrint (MP) low risk BC were enrolled. Pts with MP High1 BC were included if clinically node-negative. Pts received oral laso 5 mg daily for six 28-day cycles. Laso was continued until the day prior to surgery. Premenopausal pts received ovarian function suppression (OFS) starting C2D1. The primary endpoint was feasibility (>75% of patients completing >75% study therapy). Baseline (T0), 3-wk (T1) biopsies, and the surgical specimen (T3) was assessed centrally for Ki-67. Breast MRI functional tumor volume (FTV) was performed at T0, T1, 12 weeks (T2), and pre-operatively (T3). Blood was collected for tumor informed ctDNA at T0, T1, T2, T3. Advance event (AE) was assessed using CTCAE V5. Results: From 3/2023 to 5/2024, 20 pts were enrolled. Median age 50.5 years, 50% premenopausal, and 1 male pt. 60% cN0, 80% MP low-risk signature. 18 (90%) pts completed >75% study therapy. Two pts discontinued treatment due to pt preference. Median Ki67 at T0 was 14.7%. At T1, 87.5% of pts remained or suppressed Ki67 to <10% and 37.5% suppressed to <2.7%. Ki67 at T1 was similar between pre-and postmenopausal pts despite OFS (Table). The median MRI FTV was 8.4 cc at T0, and 3.4 cc at T3. Median % FTV reduction from T0 to T3 was -47.5%. 2/20 pts (10%) achieved a modified PEPI score of 0. No patients achieved completed pathological response. Of the 16 pts with RCB results, 2 (12.5%) RCB-1, 6 (37.5%) RCB-2, 8 (50%) RCB-3 disease. 14 pts had ctDNA available at T0. 4/14 were ctDNA+ at T0, 2 of whom became ctDNA negative, and 2 remained ctDNA+. 10/14 pts were ctDNA negative at T0, 8 of whom remained negative, 2 became positive at T1 then cleared. All AEs were grade(G) 1 except 1 pt with G2 hot flashes. Most common AEs include hot flashes (85%), constipation (50%), fatigue (50%), and nausea (35%). One pt had G3 hypersensitivity and hypertension, both unrelated to therapy. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant laso demonstrates a favorable AE profile and promising anti-tumor activity in suppressing 3-wk Ki67 and MRI FTV change in pts with HR+ HER2-negative early BC. Ki67 suppression in premenopausal pts was seen in the absence of OFS. Clinical trial information: NCT01042379 . Ki67 expression at pre-treatment, and 3-wk time point. All Patients(n=20) Premenopausal (n=10) Postmenopausal (n=9) Median Ki67 expression Baseline 10.0% 12.5% 10.0% 3-wk 5.1% 3.0% 6.0% Number of pts with Ki67 expression <10% at 3-wk 87.5% 1 87.5% 85.7% Number of pts with Ki67 expression <2.7% at 3-wk 37.5% 50% 28.6% 1 Include the one male pt.
Early adverse symptoms to predict response to treatment among patients in the I-SPY trial.
Umashankar, Saumya , Roy, Ritu , Ruddy, Kathryn J. , Olshen, Adam B. , Michele, Angela De, Perlmutter, Jane , Hylton, Nola, Veer, Laura van ‘t , Melisko, Michelle , Advocates, I-SPY Trial Investigators and Patient, Basu, Amrita B , Wolf, Denise M. , Yau, Christina , Blaes, Anne , Yee, Douglas , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Shatsky, Rebecca , Isaacs, Claudine , Rugo, Hope S. , Esserman, Laura J. , Hershman, Dawn L. , Advocates, I-SPY Trial Investigators and Patient

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 28, 2025 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 610-610

10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.610 Get It

610 Background: The adverse event (AE) landscape in oncology is changing due to the introduction of immunotherapy and antibody drug conjugates. These AEs come with both short and long-term symptoms that significantly impact patient quality of life. Monitoring for early onset of symptoms could optimize therapy for a particular patient, maximizing potential efficacy while mitigating toxicity. It is also possible that some toxicities are directly associated with drug sensitivity. We sought to identify symptoms associated with pathologic complete response (pCR) using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in early-stage high-risk breast cancer patients. Methods: Our study population included 288 stage II/III high-risk breast cancer patients enrolled on the I-SPY2 trial from 2021-2024, who received novel neoadjuvant therapies ± standard paclitaxel. pCR was assigned if tumor was absent in breast and nodes at surgery following neoadjuvant treatment. Patients (n = 288, pCR rate = 29%, 89% administered immunotherapy) were sent electronic PROs. 33 patient-reported AEs were measured using NCI's Patient Reported Outcomes - Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE). Each symptom was evaluated using severity, frequency, and interference on a Likert Scale. Presence of early PRO symptoms (cycles 1-3 of treatment) were binarized (at least one of moderate or greater), and odds ratios were computed with pCR as outcome. To assess whether higher grade AEs were enriched in patients that achieved a pCR, we also performed the Wilcoxan rank sum test using maximum (worst) symptom severity. Results: Of 288 patients included in our analysis (median age = 48 years, range = 20-78), 203 (70.5%) were White, 17 (5.9%) were Asian, 33 (11.5%) were Black or African American, and 35 (12.2%) were Hispanic. PRO analysis revealed that patients that had moderate to severe muscle pain (27% vs 10% OR = 3.15, p < 0.05), joint pain (22% vs 8% OR = 3.23, p < 0.05), headache (27% vs 12.5% OR = 2.59, p < 0.05), or mouth/throat sores (16% vs 5% OR = 3.56, p < 0.05) within weeks 1-3 had higher odds of achieving a pCR. When we looked at maximum severity between weeks 1-3, patients that achieved a PCR had higher grade muscle pain (p = 0.04), heart palpitations (p = 0.035), and significantly lower grade numbness and tingling (p = 0.002). Beyond 6 weeks, associations were weaker or insignificant. Conclusions: Our study utilizes an analysis framework that was able to determine sentinel symptoms such as muscle and joint pain, mouth/throat sores and palpitations as early as weeks 1-3 associated with increased efficacy. This may suggest an early immune reaction in patients that eventually respond favorably to treatment. Our work can help provide earlier proactive monitoring to mitigate toxicities, treatment redirection if needed, and a potential symptom-based early understanding to personalize treatment efficacy. A similar analysis is underway to predict immune related AEs. Clinical trial information: NCT01042379 .
Predicting nodal burden after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with circulating tumor (ct)DNA for surgical planning: Results from the I-SPY2 trial.
Mukhtar, Rita, Dimitroff, Katrina, Veer, Laura van ‘t , Chien, Jo, Hirst, Gillian L. , Tchou, Julia , Kuerer, Henry M. , Reyna, Chantal , Sauder, Candice A. M. , Magbanua, Mark Jesus M. , Hirst, Gillian L , Yau, Christina , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , DeMichele, Angela , Yee, Douglas , Rugo, Hope S. , Shatsky, Rebecca , Isaacs, Claudine , Ahmed, Kamran A. , Esserman, Laura J. , Boughey, Judy C.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 28, 2025 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 504-504

10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.504 Get It

504 Background: Axillary surgery in breast cancer is used for staging and therapeutic purposes, but axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) confers high risk of complications including lymphedema. Accordingly, trials have focused on right-sizing axillary surgery, with options ranging from complete omission of surgery, sentinel lymph node (SLN) surgery, targeted axillary dissection (TAD), or ALND. Identifying a biomarker to reliably predict nodal burden would facilitate accurate selection of surgical management. We evaluated whether the presence or absence of ctDNA in the blood pre and post NAC is associated with residual nodal burden. Methods: I-SPY2 is a prospective, multicenter NAC trial for patients with clinical stage II-III high-risk breast cancer. Patients are randomized to novel NAC agents, with pathologic complete response being the primary endpoint. As part of the trial, serial ctDNA is assessed with a highly sensitive tumor-informed assay using up to 16 patient-specific tumor mutations (Signatera) at baseline, 3 weeks, 12 weeks, and post-NAC. We determined whether ctDNA positivity or negativity post-NAC, and the change in ctDNA status baseline/post-NAC (-/-, -/+, +/+, +/-) are associated with ypN category (N0, N1, N2). Results: ctDNA status was available post-NAC in 495 patients and change in ctDNA status from baseline was available in 493. At baseline, ctDNA was detected in 160/220 (72.3%) cN0 patients and 227/273 (83.2%) cN+ patients (p=0.006). Post-NAC, ctDNA was detected in 11/220 (5%) cN0 patients and 34/273 (12.5%) cN+ patients (p=0.004). While baseline ctDNA status was not associated with ypN category, there was a significant association between post-NAC ctDNA status and ypN category. For ctDNA + patients post-NAC, 33.3% were ypN0, 31.1% were ypN1, and 35.6% were ypN2 at surgery; in contrast, for ctDNA - patients post-NAC, 67.1% were ypN0, 23.1% were ypN1, and 9.8% were ypN2 (p<0.0001). Dynamic ctDNA changes were also associated with ypN category, with significantly more ypN0 patients among ctDNA -/- or ctDNA +/- cases, and more ypN2 patients in those who did not clear ctDNA (+/+) (p=0.0001, Table). Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first study to demonstrate a significant relationship between ctDNA and ypN category, which has important surgical implications. CtDNA negativity was associated with low likelihood of ypN2 disease, making these patients excellent candidates for SLN surgery or TAD. Ongoing analyses will incorporate receptor subtype and timing of clearance of ctDNA. CtDNA in breast cancer may help tailor surgical management of the axilla, potentially reducing patient morbidity without compromising prognostic information. ctDNA baseline/post-NAC ypN0 (n=317) ypN1 (n=116) ypN2 (n=60) ctDNA -/- (n=105) 72.4% 19.1% 8.6% ctDNA -/+ (n=1) 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% ctDNA +/+ (n=44) 34.1% 29.6% 36.4% ctDNA +/- (n=343) 65.9% 23.9% 10.2%
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with stage 2/3 HR+HER2-negative breast cancer (BC) treated with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) in the I-SPY2 endocrine optimization pilot (EOP) trial.
Alkhafaji, Silver , Magbanua, Mark Jesus M. , Veer, Laura van ‘t , Mukhtar, Rita, Wei, Mei , Hirst, Gillian L. , Borowsky, Alexander D. , Chien, Jo, Hirst, Gillian L , Veer, Laura J. van’t , Giridhar, Karthik V. , Goetz, Matthew P. , Vaklavas, Christos , Elias, Anthony , Rugo, Hope S. , Huppert, Laura Ann , Symmans, W. Fraser , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Onishi, Natsuko , Yee, Douglas , Hylton, Nola M. , Esserman, Laura J.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 28, 2025 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: 3008-3008

10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.3008 Get It

3008 Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated the prognostic value of ctDNA analysis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage high-risk breast cancer. Few studies have characterized ctDNA in pts receiving NET for early-stage hormone receptor positive (HR+)/HER2- BC that is predicted to benefit less from chemotherapy. Methods: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) was isolated from 432 plasma samples from 108 pts enrolled in the I-SPY2 EOP trial. Pts had Stage 2/3 HR+/HER2-, MammaPrint low or high risk 1 BC. Pts were randomized to one of 7 neoadjuvant-based treatment arms including arms containing AI, Z-endoxifen, Lasofoxifene, vepdegestrant (ARV-471), and Abemaciclib. Pts were treated for 6 months prior to surgery. Blood was collected at baseline (T0), 3 weeks (T1), 12 weeks (T2), and 6 months (T3). A personalized ctDNA test (Signatera) was designed to detect up to 16 patient-specific mutations (from whole-exome sequencing of pretreatment tumor) in cfDNA by ultra-deep sequencing. The chi-square test was used to assess associations between categorical variables, and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to evaluate differences in medians. Results: ctDNA information was available for 101 patients at baseline (T0) (Table 1). At T0, 36 (35.6%) patients were ctDNA-positive. 23/36 (63.9%) became ctDNA-negative and 13/36 (36.1%) remained ctDNA-positive. At T0, 65/101 patients (64.4%) were ctDNA-negative. Of these, 57 (87.7%) remained negative, while 8 (12.3%) became ctDNA-positive at T1 before reverting to ctDNA-negative. A higher percentage of ctDNA-positive patients at T0 were cN+ compared to ctDNA-negative pts (p = 0.036, 64% vs. 40%). Additionally, ctDNA-positivity at T0 was strongly associated with higher Ki67 (p = 0.03) and larger functional tumor volume by MRI at baseline (p = 0.03). T3/T4 and high-grade tumors at baseline were also associated with having ctDNA positivity at baseline, though this was not statistically significant (p = 0.34 and 0.058, respectively). Conclusions: In this study of pts with Stage 2/3 HR+ HER2- BC with largely MammaPrint low risk signatures, over one-third of pts had detectable ctDNA at baseline. Detectable ctDNA at baseline was associated with cN+ disease, larger FTV, and high baseline Ki67. The majority of pts with positive ctDNA at baseline cleared the ctDNA on NET. Clinical trial information: NCT01042379 . Clinicopathologic characteristics of EOP patients. All Patients(N=101) Age at screening 55 (27-80) years* Clinical N Stage Node+ (cN+) 49 (48.5%) Node- (cN-) 52 (51.5%) SET status High 84 (83.2%) Low 14 (13.9%) Missing 3 (2.97%) MammaPrint (MP) risk** High risk 1 (H1) 15 (14.9%) Low risk 86 (85.1%) *Mean(min-max). **H1: MP score between 0 and -0.57; low: MP score between 0 and 0.355.
Abstract 1207: Immune subtyping identifies a subset of HR+HER2- early-stage breast cancer patients with a very high likelihood of response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy (IO): Results from 5 IO arms of the I-SPY2 TRIAL
Nanda, Rita , Chien, Jo, Stringer-Reasor, Erica , Liu, Minetta C. , Soliman, Hatem , Campbell, Michael J. , Barcaru, Andrei, Kuilman, Midas M. , Hirst, Gillian L. , Beineke, Philip, Investigators, I-SPY2, Perlmutter, Jane , Rugo, Hope, Clark, Amy S. , Pohlmann, Paula R. , Veer, Laura van ‘t , Hirst, Gillian L , Pohlmann, Paula , Wolf, Denise M. , Yau, Christina , Pusztai, Lajos , Shatsky, Rebecca , Isaacs, Claudine , Han, Hyo S , Glas, Annuska M. , Mittempergher, Lorenza , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Yu, Hongmei , Basu, Amrita B , Investigators, I-SPY2, Yee, Douglas , Symmans, W. Fraser , DeMichele, Angela , Delson, Amy , Huppert, Laura Ann , Hylton, Nola M. , Esserman, Laura J. , Veer, Laura J. van’t

Cancer Research | March 22, 2024 | Volume: 84 | Issue: 6_Supplement | Pages: 1207-1207

10.1158/1538-7445.am2024-1207 Get It

Abstract Background: Neoadjuvant immunotherapy (IO) has become standard of care for early-stage triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). I-SPY2 was the first randomized trial to examine the efficacy of IO therapy in high-risk HR+HER2- breast cancer, where most IO arms showed improved efficacy relative to control. We also previously showed immune-gene expression signatures associate with pathologic complete response (pCR) in HR+HER2- treated with IO; and developed a clinically applicable Immune classifier (ImPrint) predicting response to IO that is now being used in I-SPY2.2 as part of the Response Predictive Subtypes. Here we report the performance of ImPrint in HR+HER2- patients from 5 IO arms. Methods: 204 HR+HER2- (MammaPrint high risk) patients from 5 IO arms (anti-PD1, anti-PDL1/PARPi, anti-PD1/TLR9 dual-IO, and anti-PD1 +/- LAG3 dual-IO) and 191 patients from the control arm were included in this analysis. Patients were classified ImPrint+ (likely sensitive) vs. ImPrint- (likely resistant), by Agendia, Inc, using pre-treatment mRNA. Performance of ImPrint for predicting pCR to IO was characterized and compared to that of MammaPrint (ultra) High2 risk (MP2) and tumor grade (III). Based on the DRFS of pCR vs. non-pCR HR+HER2-/ImPrint+ patients (median follow up ~4.5yr), we predicted the DRFS in the IO vs. control arms using an exponential model as a function of the pCR rates. Results: Overall, the pCR rate over the 5 IO arms was 33%. 28% of HR+HER2- patients were ImPrint+; and pCR rates with IO were 76% in ImPrint+ vs. 16% in ImPrint-, with the highest pCR rate &gt;90% in a dual-IO arm. In the control arm, pCR rates were 33% in ImPrint+ and 8% in ImPrint-. Based on the pCR rates in the IO vs. control (76% vs. 33%), the predicted DRFS of HR+HER2-/ImPrint+ patients are 91% vs 80% at 5 years, respectively. This translates to a risk reduction of 52% for the IO arm relative to standard chemotherapy in HR+HER2-/ImPrint+ patients. We also compared MP2 and tumor grade (III) to ImPrint+ as pCR predictors, as these markers have been used or proposed as selection markers for neoadjuvant IO trials in HR+HER2-. The pCR rates for MP2, Grade III, at 56%, 45%, respectively, are much smaller than that for ImPrint+ at 75% pCR; thus ImPrint appears to be a more precise predictive biomarker for neoadjuvant IO therapy in the HR+HER2- breast cancers. Conclusion: These results suggest that a subset of high risk HR+HER2- breast cancers is highly sensitive to immunotherapy, and by using a specific and sensitive selection strategy patients could achieve pCR rates similar to what is seen with best neoadjuvant therapies in TNBC and HER2+ (i.e., pCR rate &gt; 65-70%). ImPrint, an FDA IDE-enabled assay currently being further evaluated in I-SPY2, may represent the way to identify patients for IO that best balances likely benefit vs risk of serious immune-related adverse events. Citation Format: Denise M. Wolf, Christina Yau, Lajos Pusztai, Rita Nanda, Jo Chien, Erica Stringer-Reasor, Rebecca Shatsky, Claudine Isaacs, MInetta Liu, Hyo Han, Hatem Soliman, Michael Campbell, Annuska Glas, Andrei Barcaru, Lorenza Mittempergher, Midas Kuilman, Lamorna Brown Swigart, Gillian Hirst, Hongmei Yu, Philip Beineke, Amrita Basu, I-SPY2 Investigators, Douglas Yee, W. Fraser Symmans, Angela DeMichele, Jane Perlmutter, Amy Delson, Laura Huppert, Hope Rugo, Amy Clark, Nola Hylton, Paula Pohlmann, Laura Esserman, Laura van 't Veer. Immune subtyping identifies a subset of HR+HER2- early-stage breast cancer patients with a very high likelihood of response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy (IO): Results from 5 IO arms of the I-SPY2 TRIAL [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 1207.