Schwartz, Christopher J.

PURPOSE The nodal burden of patients with residual isolated tumor cells (ITCs) in the sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) (ypN0i+) is unknown, and axillary management is not standardized. We investigated rates of additional positive lymph nodes (LNs) at axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and oncologic outcomes in patients with ypN0i+ treated with and without ALND. METHODS The Oncoplastic Breast Consortium-05/ICARO cohort study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06464341 ) retrospectively analyzed data from patients with stage I to III breast cancer with ITCs in SLNs after NAC from 62 centers in 18 countries. The primary end point was the 3-year rate of any axillary recurrence. The rate of any invasive recurrence was the secondary end point. RESULTS In total, 583 patients were included, of whom 182 (31%) had completion ALND and 401 (69%) did not. The median age was 48 years. Most patients (74%) were clinically node-positive at diagnosis and 41% had hormone receptor–positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative tumors. The mean number of SLNs with ITCs was 1.2. Patients treated with ALND were more likely to present with cN2/3 disease (17% v 7%, P < .001), have ITCs detected on frozen section (62% v 8%, P < .001), have lymphovascular invasion (38% v 24%, P < .001), and receive adjuvant chest wall (89% v 78%, P = .024) and nodal radiation (82% v 75%, P = .038). Additional positive nodes were found at ALND in 30% of patients, but only 5% had macrometastases. The 3-year rates of any axillary and any invasive recurrence were 2% (95% CI, 0.95 to 3.6) and 11% (95% CI, 8 to 14), respectively, with no statistical difference by type of axillary surgery. CONCLUSION The nodal burden in patients with ypN0(i+) was low, and axillary recurrence after ALND omission was rare in patients selected for this approach. These results do not support routine ALND in all patients with ypN0(i+).

Abstract Background: Treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer with selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) frequently results in the loss or reduction of ER expression. Whether these changes are due to on-target effects of SERDs degrading ER or arise as a mechanism of tumor resistance with associated changes in cellular phenotypes remains unknown. It is critical to distinguish between these possibilities to accurately assess treatment response and determine the most appropriate subsequent therapy. To this end, we created and conducted molecular analyses on patient-derived organoid cultures from post-treatment tissue in patients receiving neoadjuvant SERD therapy for early-stage ER+ breast cancer in the I-SPY2 Endocrine Optimization Protocol (EOP). Methods: The I-SPY2 EOP study is a prospective, randomized substudy within the I-SPY TRIAL testing the oral SERD amcenestrant alone or in combination with letrozole or abemaciclib in stage 2/3 ER+ Her2-negative breast cancer. Enrollment is ongoing, with patients receiving amcenestrant neoadjuvantly for 6 months until the day before surgery. Tumor tissue is collected at baseline, 3 weeks, and at surgery. Organoids were generated from post-treatment surgical samples. Organoid cultures were optimized based on established methods (Dekkers et al., Nature Protocols, 2021) to assess ER levels and activity. Pre- and post-treatment tissue samples were also assessed for ER, PR, Ki67, and GATA3, a luminal marker and transcription factor that is functionally linked with ER, via immunohistochemistry. Results: In 7 patients with both pre- and post-treatment tissue samples including fresh surgical samples for organoid generation, the ER in baseline tumor tissue was &gt;=90% in all patients, PR ranged from 40-90%, and Ki67 ranged from 5-30%. In post-treatment surgical tissue from these cases, ER ranged from 0-30%, PR from 0-50%, Ki67 from &lt; 1%-10%, and GATA3 was positive in 5 of 5 cases tested to-date. The creation of organoids from residual disease at surgery was attempted for these 7 patients, with organoids successfully propagated in 5 cases thus far. 3 of 5 organoid cultures were ready for analysis and in all cases strong ER and PR expression in organoids was observed after culture for &gt; 1 month in the absence of amcenestrant. Detailed gene expression profiling (including Mammaprint/Blueprint) and gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) to assess for intrinsic breast cancer subtype and ER activity in each sample and corresponding organoid culture are in progress and will be reported with the full dataset. Conclusion: Patient-derived organoid culturing of residual disease after neoadjuvant endocrine therapy is feasible. Neoadjuvant treatment with a SERD can render ER and PR low or absent at the time of surgical resection, which does not necessarily imply the presence of endocrine therapy resistant disease. The use of organoids and additional IHC markers (GATA3) demonstrate that receptor negativity may be an indicator of the drug hitting its target, suggesting ER signaling is still intact. In general, patient-derived tumor organoid cultures modeling residual disease states can be a useful adjunct to existing methods used to monitor the effects of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy and is being explored in the I-SPY EOP trial. Citation Format: Jennifer Rosenbluth, Christopher J. Schwartz, Tam Binh Bui, Shruti Warhadpande, Pravin Phadatare, Sigal Eini, Michael Bruck, Julissa Molina-Vega, Kami Pullakhandam, Nicole Schindler, Lamorna A. Brown Swigart, Christina Yau, Gillian Hirst, Rita Mukhtar, Karthik V. Giridhar, Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, Kevin Kalinsky, Cheryl A. Ewing, Jasmine M. Wong, Michael D. Alvarado, Laura Van’t Veer, Laura J. Esserman, Jo Chien. Characterization of residual disease after neoadjuvant selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) therapy using tumor organoids in the I-SPY Endocrine Optimization Protocol (EOP) [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 P3-09-01.