Meric‐Bernstam, Funda

Abstract HER2 mutations are infrequent genomic events in biliary tract cancers (BTCs). Neratinib, an irreversible, pan-HER, oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, interferes with constitutive receptor kinase activation and has activity in HER2-mutant tumours. SUMMIT is an open-label, single-arm, multi-cohort, phase 2, ‘basket’ trial of neratinib in patients with solid tumours harbouring oncogenic HER2 somatic mutations (NCT01953926). The primary objective of the BTC cohort was objective response rate (ORR). Among 25 treatment-refractory patients (11 cholangiocarcinoma, 10 gallbladder, 4 ampullary cancers), the ORR was 16%. The most common HER2 mutations were S310F (n = 11; 48%) and V777L (n = 4; 17%). Outcomes appeared worse for ampullary tumours or those with co-occurring oncogenic TP53 and CDKN2A alterations. Loss of amplified HER2 S310F and acquisition of multiple previously undetected oncogenic co-mutations were identified at progression in one responder. Neratinib demonstrated anti-tumour activity in patients with refractory BTC harbouring HER2 mutations. Future studies of rational combinations are warranted.

Abstract Background: We previouslyreported that invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), the primary outcome, and distantdisease-free survival (DDFS), a secondary outcome, differed by menopausalstatus in a pre-specified analysis. Here,we report updates on IDFS and DDFS with additional follow-up, as well as distantrecurrence-free interval (DRFI) and post hoc analyses in premenopausal women.Methods: Eligibilitycriteria included women > 18 years of age with HR+, HER2-BC and 1-3 +LN and no contraindications to taxane and/or anthracycline basedCT. DRFI was defined as time to distant recurrence or death from breast cancer.Analyses were intent-to-treat among eligible pts. We performed a post hocanalysis evaluating IDFS between treatment arms in premenopausal pts with pN1mi.In addition, we conducted a two-year landmarked IDFS analysis by ovarianfunction suppression (OFS) or not in the ET arm, as well as by regularmenstrual periods or not in both treatment arms.Results: Among the 4,984eligible pts, there were 553 IDFS events and median follow-up of 6.1 years.Postmenopausal women do not have any IDFS or DDFS benefit with CT; however, 5-yearabsolute benefits for IDFS and DDFS with CT for premenopausal pts were 5.9% and3.3%, respectively. In pre-menopausal pts, CT was associated with improved DRFIfor all RS values < 25, with an absolute improvement of 2.3% for RS0-13 and of 2.8% for RS 14-25. Among premenopausal pts, 12.4% (n=206) had pNmi)disease. In a post hoc analysis, there was a trend for CT benefit for thosewith pNmi [hazard ratio (HR)=0.44, confidence interval (CI)=0.18-1.08]. Therewere only 22 IDFS events. Only 17.2% of premenopausal pts assigned to ETunderwent OFS in the first 24 months and in two-year landmarked analysis, therewas no IDFS difference in those who underwent OFS or not (HR=0.88,CI=0.47-1.63). In premenopausal women assigned to ET, 58.9% stopped havingperiods within the first 24 months, and have anumerically improved IDFS compared to those who continued regular periods (HR=1.48,CI: 0.92-2.40). Among premenopausal assigned to CT followed by ET, 80.8%stopped having periods within the first 24 months and have a numericallyimproved IDFS compared to those who continue to have regular periods (HR=1.56, CI:0.85-2.86).Discussion: In accordancewith the differential IDFS and DDFS benefit based upon menopausal status inS1007, premenopausal pts with 1-3+LN and RS < 25 had a statisticallysignificant improvement in DRFI with the addition of CT. A small proportion of S1007premenopausal participants underwent OFS. The role of OFS as it relates to CTbenefit cannot be determined from this study. A future randomized trial should address the clinical question if OFScan replace CT in premenopausal pts with HR+/HER2-, node-positive breast cancer.Funding: Supported by National Cancer Institute grants U10CA180888, U10CA180819,U10CA180820, U10CA180821, U10CA180868, U10CA180863, and in part by Susan G.Komen for the Cure® Research Program, The Hope Foundation for Cancer Research,Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Genomic Health, Inc. Citation Format: Kevin M Kalinsky, William E Barlow, Julie R Gralow, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Kathy S Albain, Daniel F Hayes, Nancy U Lin, Edith A Perez, Lori A Goldstein, Stephen KL Chia, Sukhbinder Dhesy-Thind, Priya Rastogi, Emilio Alba, Suzette Delaloge, Miguel Martin, Catherine M Kelly, Manuel Ruiz-Borrego, Miguel Gil-Gil, Claudia H Arce-Salinas, Etienne GC Brain, Eun Sook Lee, Jean-Yves Pierga, Begoña Bermejo, Manuel Ramos-Vasquez, Kyung Hae Jung, Jean-Marc Ferrero, Anne Schott, Steven Shak, Priyanka Sharma, Danika Lew, Jieling Miao, Debasish Tripathy, Lajos Pusztai, Gabriel Hortobagyi. Updated results from a phase 3 randomized clinical trial in participants (pts) with 1-3 positive lymph nodes (LN), hormone receptor-positive (HR+) and HER2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer (BC) with recurrence score (RS) ≤ 25 randomized to endocrine therapy (ET) +/- chemotherapy (CT): SWOG S1007 (RxPONDER) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr GS2-07.

Abstract Background FGFR2 fusions occur in ~15% of patients (pts) with iCCA, a rare cancer with a poor prognosis. Futibatinib, a highly selective, irreversible FGFR1-4 inhibitor, has shown activity across tumor types, including iCCA, in a phase 1 study. The pivotal phase 2 FOENIX-CCA2 trial (NCT02052778) is evaluating futibatinib in iCCA harboring FGFR2 fusions/rearrangements. Here, we report the first efficacy, safety, and quality of life (QoL) data for the complete FOENIX-CCA2 population. Methods Eligible pts had unresectable/metastatic iCCA with an FGFR2 fusion/rearrangement and progressive disease (PD) after ≥1 prior treatment (tx; excluding FGFR inhibitors). Pts received futibatinib 20 mg QD until PD/intolerability. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1 by independent central review (target ORR: 20%). Secondary endpoints included duration of response (DOR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Subgroup analyses were performed by pt characteristic and molecular alteration. Results Among 103 pts (56% female), 53% had received ≥2 prior tx. FGFR2 fusions were present in 78% (23% had FGFR2-BICC1 fusions) and FGFR2 rearrangements in 22%. At data cutoff (Oct 1, 2020), 72 pts (70%) had discontinued tx. The study met its primary objective with a confirmed ORR of 41.7% (43/103). Responses were durable, with a median (m) DOR of 9.7 mo and 72% of responses ≥6 mo. DCR was 82.5%. mPFS was 9.0 mo; mOS was 21.7 mo, with a 12-mo OS rate of 72%. ORR was consistent across pt demographic subgroups (≥65 y: 65.2%; 2 prior tx: 38.7%). Common tx-related AEs (TRAEs) were hyperphosphatemia (85%), alopecia (33%), and dry mouth (30%). The most frequent grade 3 TRAE, hyperphosphatemia (30%), resolved with adequate management (median 7 d). Retinal disorders (all grade 1-2) were reported in 8% of pts. TRAEs were managed with dosing interruptions (50%)/reductions (54%); 2 pts discontinued tx due to TRAEs. No tx-related deaths occurred. ORRs were consistent in pts with dosing interruptions (40.2%) or reductions (46.8%). PROs were stable through 11.0 mo of tx. In exploratory biomarker analyses, ORR was consistent in pts with FGFR2 fusions (43.8%) and other FGFR2 rearrangements (34.8%) and in pts with BICC1 (41.7%) and non-BICC1 (44.6%) fusion partners. Notably, no obvious differences in ORR were observed in pts with co-occurring genetic alterations, including TP53 comutations (ORR, 38.5% [5/13]). Additional biomarker data will be presented. Conclusions Futibatinib resulted in frequent, durable objective responses in pts with iCCA harboring FGFR2 fusion/rearrangements, regardless of pt baseline characteristic, molecular alteration, or comutation. AEs were manageable with dosing modifications that did not impact response. QoL was maintained. Citation Format: Lipika Goyal, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Antoine Hollebecque, Chigusa Morizane, Juan W. Valle, Thomas B. Karasic, Thomas A. Abrams, Robin Kate Kelley, Philippe Cassier, Junji Furuse, Heinz-Josef Klümpen, Heung-Moon Chang, Li-Tzong Chen, Yoshito Komatsu, Kunihiro Masuda, Daniel Ahn, Yaohua He, Nital Soni, Karim A. Benhadji, John A. Bridgewater. Primary results of phase 2 FOENIX-CCA2: The irreversible FGFR1-4 inhibitor futibatinib in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) with FGFR2 fusions/rearrangements [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr CT010.

Abstract Funding: Supported by National Cancer Institute grants U10CA180888, U10CA180819, U10CA180820, U10CA180821, U10CA180868, U10CA180863; and in part by Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Research Program, The Hope Foundation for Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Genomic Health, Inc. Acknowledgement: The authors wish to thank Dr. Ana M. Gonzalez-Angulo, MD, for her invaluable contributions to the design and implementation of this study. Background: The clinical utility of the RS to determine CT benefit is well established in pts with HR+, HER2-, axillary lymph node (LN)-negative BC. Retrospective analyses from SWOG S8814 support the potential prognostic and predictive role of RS for CT benefit in postmenopausal pts with LN+ BC. SWOG S1007 is a prospective, randomized trial of endocrine therapy (ET) vs. chemoendocrine therapy (CET) in women with 1-3 +LN and a RS < 25 (NCT01272037). Methods: Eligibility criteria included women > 18 years of age with HR+, HER2- BC and 1-3 +LN and no contraindications to taxane and/or anthracycline based CT. Women with a RS < 25 were randomized to receive ET or CET in 1:1 randomization using 3 stratification factors: (1) RS (0-13 vs.14-25); (2) menopausal status; and (3) axillary nodal dissection vs. sentinel node biopsy. The primary objective was to determine the effect of CT on invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) and whether the effect depended on the RS. The primary analysis was to test for a significant interaction of the treatment arm and continuous RS using a Cox regression model for IDFS, adjusting for treatment, RS, and menopausal status. A total of 832 IDFS events were expected for the final analysis. Secondary objectives included overall survival (OS). The protocol specified that interaction between treatment and the stratification variables was to be tested and, if significant, separate analyses performed by stratum. Annual interim analyses were planned starting at 24% of events. At the third interim analysis with 410 IDFS events, the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee recommended reporting results, with a decision by the NCI’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, the study sponsor. Results: Of the 9,383 women screened from 2/28/11-9/29/17, 5,083 pts (54.2%) were randomized. With a median follow-up of 5.1 years, 447 IDFS events have been observed. For the primary analysis, the interaction test for CT benefit and continuous RS was not statistically significant, p=0.30. In a model with CT, RS, and menopausal status (no interaction term), higher continuous RS was associated with worse IDFS [HR 1.06, 2-sided p<0.001, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.04-1.07], and CT was associated with an improvement in IDFS (HR 0.81, p=0.026, 95% CI 0.67-0.98). In a pre-specified analysis, a significant interaction was identified between CT and menopausal status (p=0.004), necessitating separate analyses by menopausal status. In postmenopausal pts (N=3350, 67%), adjusting for continuous RS, the HR for CET vs. ET was not significant (HR=0.97, p=0.82, 95% CI 0.78-1.22; 5-year IDFS 91.6% vs. 91.9%) indicating no benefit from CT. In premenopausal pts (N=1665, 33%), the HR (0.54) was statistically significant (p=0.0004, 95% CI 0.38-0.76; 5-year IDFS 94.2% vs. 89.0%), indicating CT benefit. In premenopausal pts, ovarian suppression was performed in 15.9% vs. 3.7% (ET vs. CET), and 47.9% vs. 26.4% reported menstruation after 6 months of treatment. Although the number of events is limited, the HR for treatment adjusted by RS for OS in premenopausal pts was 0.47 (p=0.032, 95% CI 0.24-0.94). At this time, there is no differential effect with CT in regard to other stratification factors. Conclusions: There is a significant differential treatment effect of CT benefit based on RS for premenopausal vs. postmenopausal women requiring separate analyses. While only 54% of the protocol specified events are recorded and pts will be followed for 15 years, the current data show that adjuvant therapy can be de-escalated to ET alone in postmenopausal pts with a RS < 25 and 1-3 +LN. However, there is a strong IDFS benefit for CET in premenopausal pts, with an early indication of an OS improvement. Citation Format: Kevin Kalinsky, William E Barlow, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Julie R Gralow, Kathy S Albain, Daniel Hayes, Nancy Lin, Edith A Perez, Lori J Goldstein, Stephen Chia, Subkhbinder Dhesy-Thind, Priya Rastogi, Emilio Alba, Suzette Delaloge, Miguel Martín, Miguel Gil Gil, Claudia Arce-Salinas, Etienne Brain, In Hae Park, Jean-Yves Pierga, Ana Hernandez Lluch, Manuel Ramos Vasquez, Manuel Ruiz Borrego, Kyung Hae Jung, Jean-Marc Ferrero, Anne Schott, Steve Shak, Priyanka Sharma, Danika L Lew, Jieling Miao, Debu Tripathy, Gabriel Hortobagyi, Lajos Pusztai. First results from a phase III randomized clinical trial of standard adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) +/- chemotherapy (CT) in patients (pts) with 1-3 positive nodes, hormone receptor-positive (HR+) and HER2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer (BC) with recurrence score (RS) < 25: SWOG S1007 (RxPonder) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr GS3-00.

PURPOSE This trial assessed the utility of applying tumor DNA sequencing to treatment selection for patients with advanced, refractory cancer and somatic mutations in one of four signaling pathways by comparing the efficacy of four study regimens that were either matched to the patient's aberrant pathway (experimental arm) or not matched to that pathway (control arm). MATERIALS AND METHODS Adult patients with an actionable mutation of interest were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive either (1) a study regimen identified to target the aberrant pathway found in their tumor (veliparib with temozolomide or adavosertib with carboplatin [DNA repair pathway], everolimus [PI3K pathway], or trametinib [RAS/RAF/MEK pathway]), or (2) one of the same four regimens, but chosen from among those not targeting that pathway. RESULTS Among 49 patients treated in the experimental arm, the objective response rate was 2% (95% CI, 0% to 10.9%). One of 20 patients (5%) in the experimental trametinib cohort had a partial response. There were no responses in the other cohorts. Although patients and physicians were blinded to the sequencing and random assignment results, a higher pretreatment dropout rate was observed in the control arm (22%) compared with the experimental arm (6%; P = .038), suggesting that some patients may have had prior tumor mutation profiling performed that led to a lack of participation in the control arm. CONCLUSION Further investigation, better annotation of predictive biomarkers, and the development of more effective agents are necessary to inform treatment decisions in an era of precision cancer medicine. Increasing prevalence of tumor mutation profiling and preference for targeted therapy make it difficult to use a randomized phase II design to evaluate targeted therapy efficacy in an advanced disease setting.

Abstract The Clinical Genome (ClinGen) Resource is a US National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)-funded program dedicated to building an expert curated and freely available central resource that defines the clinical relevance of genes and variants for use in precision medicine. Teams of experts in various clinical domains come together as working groups within ClinGen to facilitate the interpretation, annotation and utilization of genes-variants for clinical application. Somatic Cancer is one such ClinGen Clinical Domain Working Group (CDWG) that consists of over 90 members worldwide, including clinicians, clinical laboratory diagnosticians, genomic scientists and bioinformaticians. Members of this CDWG identify high priority somatic variants in different cancer types that require expert curation and consensus in their clinical interpretation. In order to accurately implement practice guidelines/standards for variant interpretation, the Somatic Cancer CDWG recently established a somatic Variant Curation Expert Panel (VCEP) approval process. Based on their interest and clinical domain expertise, a subset of the CDWG members formed somatic VCEPs to perform authoritative curation on the shortlisted genes-somatic variants within the context of a disease, therapeutic indication or biological pathway. Expert curation within these VCEPs is performed by utilizing guidelines such as those recommended by AMP/ASCO/CAP (Li et al. 2017) and the Somatic Cancer CDWG (Ritter et al. 2016). Wherever necessary, the somatic VCEPs will develop: 1) gene- and disease-specific modifications to address gaps in existing variant assessment guidelines, 2) quantitative approaches for variant interpretation, and 3) implement standardized protocols for annotating somatic variants in genes for a specific disease, drug or biological pathway. Furthermore, ClinGen recently formed the Cancer Variant Interpretation (CVI) committee to provide support, review and feedback on the provisional somatic variant interpretation proposals developed by the VCEPs. The CVI provides somatic VCEPs with a preliminary approval before the final approval by the ClinGen CDWG oversight committee and ultimately ‘expert panel' status in ClinVar, an NCBI-maintained database of clinically relevant gene variants. NTRK fusions in cancer is the first Somatic VCEP going through the ClinGen Somatic Expert Panel approval process. Alterations in the FGFR pathway in GU cancers is the second somatic VCEP under consideration. The Somatic CDWG uses the CIViC (Clinical Interpretation of Variants in Cancer) platform for curation of somatic variants. To date, the CDWG has curated 268 evidence items relating to cancer variants in CIViC, 6 assertions, and 33 evidence source suggestions. The ultimate goal of the Somatic CDWG is to enhance the usability, dissemination and implementation of cancer somatic changes in the ClinGen resource and other cancer variant knowledgebases. Citation Format: Shruti Rao, Deborah Ritter, Arpad Danos, Gordana Raca, Angshumoy Roy, Kilannin Krysiak, Wan-Hsin Lin, Erica Barnell, Matthew McCoy, Beth Pitel, Dmitriy Sonkin, Jue Wang, Seyed Ali Hosseini, Shamini Selvarajah, Ian King, Rashmi Kanagal-Shamana, Xinjie Xu, Jeremy L. Warner, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Jason D. Merker, Marilyn Li, Alex H. Wagner, Malachi Griffith, Obi L. Griffith, Shashikant Kulkarni, Subha Madhavan. ClinGen somatic cancer working group: Disseminating standardized cancer molecular diagnostic data and evidence through global collaboration and expert curation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3215.

Abstract Defining patient-to-patient similarity is essential for the development of precision medicine in clinical care and research. Conceptually, the identification of similar patient cohorts appears straightforward; however, universally accepted definitions remain elusive. Simultaneously, an explosion of vendors and published algorithms have emerged and all provide varied levels of functionality in identifying patient similarity categories. To provide clarity and a common framework for patient similarity, a workshop at the American Medical Informatics Association 2019 Annual Meeting was convened. This workshop included invited discussants from academics, the biotechnology industry, the FDA, and private practice oncology groups. Drawing from a broad range of backgrounds, workshop participants were able to coalesce around 4 major patient similarity classes: (1) feature, (2) outcome, (3) exposure, and (4) mixed-class. This perspective expands into these 4 subtypes more critically and offers the medical informatics community a means of communicating their work on this important topic.

PURPOSE Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCCA), a global health problem, is increasing in incidence and has differing etiologies worldwide. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is rapidly being incorporated into the clinical management of biliary cancers. IHCCA is enriched with actionable mutations, and there are several promising targeted therapies under development. NGS data from Asia, where IHCCA is most prevalent, are limited. METHODS Comprehensive genomic profiling of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue from 164 Asian and 283 Western patients with IHCCA was performed using NGS. We measured the distribution of DNA repair genetic aberrations (GAs) in IHCCA, along with actionable mutations. Also, we evaluated the association between DNA repair GAs and tumor mutation burden (TMB). Based on the TMB status, patients were distinguished into 3 levels: low (< 6 mut/Mb), intermediate (6-10 mut/Mb), and high (TMB-H; ≥ 10 mut/Mb). RESULTS Seventy-two percent of Asian patients had ≥ 1 actionable GA, with a significantly higher frequency in KMT2C , BRCA1/2, and DDR2 compared with Western patients ( P = .02, .003, and .003, respectively); 60.9% of Western patients had ≥ 1 actionable GA and higher frequency of CDKN2A/B and IDH1/2 GAs ( P = .0004 and < .001, respectively). GAs in nuclear factor kappa B pathway regulators and DNA repair genes occurred more frequently in Asian patients ( P = .006 and .001, respectively). There was a higher frequency of TMB-H in Asian compared with the Western cohort (12.2% v 5.9%; P = .07). CONCLUSION A higher burden of DNA repair mutations and frequency of patients with TMB-H in the Asian IHCCA cohort compared with the Western patients suggests a potential role for DNA repair and immune checkpoint inhibitors in the Asian population. Future clinical trials should account for this genetic heterogeneity.

526 Background: Z1041 randomized women with HER2+ operable breast cancer to: FEC → P+T (Arm 1) or P+T → FEC+T (Arm 2). Treatment administered as 5-FU 500 mg/m2, epirubicin 75 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 day 1 of a 21-day cycle x 4; paclitaxel 80 mg/m2weekly x 12 and T 4 mg/kg once then 2 mg/kg weekly x 11. T was to continue q3 weeks post-op for 40 weeks. A secondary aim was to examine the cardiotoxicity (CE). Methods: Ejection fraction (EF) was measured at baseline (BL), between regimens (wk 12), prior to surgery (wk 24) and PRN. Eligibility: BL EF ≥ 55%. CEs included decline in EF of > 15%, or >10% points to a value < LLN. Reversibility was adjudicated by blinded investigators as reversible (R: recovery of EF to ≤ 5% below BL), partially reversible (PR: recovery of > 10% points from nadir, but ≤ 5% points below BL), indeterminate (IN: no additional EF data), or irreversible (IRR:follow-up EF studies showed no improvement). Results: Of the 280 patients (Arm 1: 138) who began treatment, 15 pts (Arm 1: 10; Arm 2: 5) did not receive T. The number of weeks of T was 13 (range: 1-18) in Arm 1 and 24 (range: 1-31) in Arm 2. Changes in EF and severe treatment related cardiac toxicities prior to surgery (sx) are tabled below. There were 271 pts (Arm 1: 131) who had post-BL EFs. Prior to sx, there were 11 CE (8.3%) in Arm 1 and 13 CE (9.2%) in Arm 2. CEs were R in 12 pts (Arm 1: 5; Arm 2: 7); PR in 6 pts (Arm 1: 4; Arm 2: 2); IN in 4 pts (Arm 1: 2; Arm 2: 3) and IRR in 1 Arm 2 pt. Conclusions: The number of CE events in arms 1 and 2 showed no significant difference; greater scatter was observed in arm 2 patients. While concern for late cardiac events makes ongoing cardiac surveillance prudent due to A, concomitant use of A and T appear to not be associated with increased cardiac risk. Clinical trial information: NCT00513292. [Table: see text]

502 Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and concomitant trastuzumab (T) have produced high pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in HER2+ breast cancers. Z1041 addresses the timing of initiation of T with NAC. Methods: Women with operable HER2+ invasive breast cancer were randomized 1:1 to: FEC → P+T (Arm 1) or P+T → FEC+T (Arm 2) where treatment was administered as 5-FU 500 mg/m2, epirubicin 75 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 day 1 of a 21-day cycle x 4 (FEC); paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 weekly x 12 and trastuzumab 4 mg/kg once then 2 mg/kg weekly x 11. Eligibility also included: tumor > 2 cm or a positive lymph node and left ventricular ejection fraction > 55%. The primary aim was to compare the pCR rates in the breast (pBCR) between the regimens. Secondary endpoints were pCR rate in the breast and lymph nodes (pBNCR) and safety profile. All pts who began study treatment were included in the analyses. With 128 pts per regimen, a two-sided alpha=0.05 test of proportions would have a 90% chance of detecting a difference of 20% or more in the pBCR rates, when the pBCR rate with the poorer regimen is ≤ 25%. Results: From September 15, 2007 to December 15, 2011, 282 women (Arm 1: 140 pts) were enrolled. Two pts (Arm 1) withdrew without receiving treatment. The two arms were similar in age, stage, and hormone receptor (HR) status (HR neg: 40%). The severe (grade 3+) treatment-related toxicities included: neutropenia (Arm 1: 24.6%; Arm 2: 32.4%), fatigue (Arm 1: 4.3%; Arm 2: 8.5%), and neurosensory problems (Arm 1: 3.6%; Arm 2: 4.9%). The pBCR rate and pBNCR rates (Table) were not found to differ between the two regimens (Fisher’s exact p values: 0.905 and 0.811, respectively). Conclusions: High pCR rates can be achieved with trastuzumab in combination with anthracyclines and taxanes. The pBCR or pBNCR was not different between regimens based on the timing of initiation of trastuzumab. Clinical trial information: NCT00513292. [Table: see text]