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Symmans, W. F.

Mayo Clinic

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Citations 7

Abstract RF3-04: Tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA analysis to assess molecular residual disease for prognosis and prediction of benefit from palbociclib in the PALLAS trial
Parsons, H. A., Ballman, K., Heitzer, E., Watson, M., Balic, M., Renner, Derrick , Kalashnikova, E., Steger, G., Balko, J. M., Martín, M., Rodriguez, A. A., Dayao, Zoneddy , Chan, A., Gal-Yam, E. Nili, Liu, M. C., Isaacs, C., Los, Maartje, Gil, M. Gil, Felder, B., Denkert, C., Fasching, P. A., Liu, F., O'Donnell, T V, Mayer, E. L., Gnant, M., Symmans, W. F., DeMichele, A. M., Parsons, H. A., Ballman, K., Heitzer, Ellen , Hlauschek, Dominik , Kalashnikova, E. , Steger, G.G., Novik, Yelena , Rodriguez, A., Chan, Arlene , Gal‐Yam, Einav Nili , Liu, M. C., Isaacs, Claudine , Los, Maartje , Fasching, Peter A , O'Donnell, T., Gnant, Michael , Symmans, W. Fraser , DeMichele, Angela

Clinical Cancer Research | February 17, 2026 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 4_Supplement | Pages: RF3-04-RF3-04

10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs25-rf3-04 Get It

Abstract Background: PALLAS (PALbociclib CoLlaborative Adjuvant Study, NCT02513394) is a randomized phase III trial comparing two years of the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib combined with the physician’s choice of adjuvant endocrine therapy, versus endocrine therapy alone for patients with Stage II-III hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-) breast cancer. Molecular residual disease (MRD) detection via circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing was a predefined biomarker analysis to identify patients at highest risk of recurrence. Methods: PALLAS participants with available tumor block, at least a baseline (pre-study treatment) plasma sample, and either whole blood or buffy coat were randomly selected from the overall study population. Plasma samples on cycle 1 day 1 (C1D1), cycle 6 day 1 (C6D1), and at the end of treatment (EOT) were collected, processed, and stored. Nucleic acids were extracted from primary tumor tissue or, when primary tissue was insufficient, from post-neoadjuvant tumor tissue, provided the sample had sufficient material and tumor cellularity (>25 mm2 tissue area with ≥20% tumor nuclei). Data from next generation sequencing of tumor tissue and matched normal DNA were used to create a personalized ctDNA SignateraTM assay (Natera, Inc.) for MRD assessment in the peripheral blood. ctDNA was reported as mean tumor molecules/mL (MTM/mL) of plasma. The primary endpoint was distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI) based on ctDNA status. Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to evaluate prognosis and predictive interactions. To minimize bias, the biorepository and laboratory teams were blinded to participant identity. Results: In total, 1280 participants were randomly selected for inclusion in this preplanned ctDNA sub-study. WES and WGS are being conducted on tissue, and Signatera results will be generated. Results for association of MRD status (positive/negative) and MTM/mL with DRFI in the context of 7 year median follow up of this study cohort will be reported. Conclusions: The planned analysis is ongoing and the presented work will provide data from the first randomized phase 3 adjuvant study in HR+/HER2- breast cancer to report MRD status by treatment arm. Citation Format: H. A. Parsons, K. Ballman, E. Heitzer, M. Watson, M. Balic, D. Hlauschek, D. Renner, E. Kalashnikova, G. Steger, J. M. Balko, Y. Novik, M. Martin, A. A. Rodriguez, Z. Dayao, A. Chan, E. Nili Gal-Yam, M. C. Liu, C. Isaacs, M. Los, M. Gil Gil, B. Felder, C. Denkert, P. Fasching, F. Liu, T. O'Donnell, E. L. Mayer, M. Gnant, W. F. Symmans, A. DeMichele. Tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA analysis to assess molecular residual disease for prognosis and prediction of benefit from palbociclib in the PALLAS trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr RF3-04.
Abstract PS3-08-13: Exploratory analysis of palbociclib benefit in the PALLAS trial by SETERPR index and prior chemotherapy regimens (ABCSG-42/AFT-05/BIG-14-13)
Metzger, Otto, O'Brien, P., Ballman, K. V., Gnant, M., Watson, M. A., Chen, Eveline , Tran, Kevin, Martín, M., Balko, J., Nowecki, Z. I., Hahn, O. M., Denkert, C., Curtis, C., Liu, F., Dueck, A., Fesl, Christian , Mayer, E. L., Michele, A. De, Symmans, W. F., O'Brien, P., Ballman, K. V., Gnant, Michael , Hlauschek, Dominik , Balko, J. M., Curtis, Christina , Symmans, W. Fraser

Clinical Cancer Research | February 17, 2026 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 4_Supplement | Pages: PS3-08-13-PS3-08-13

10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs25-ps3-08-13 Get It

Abstract Background PALLAS trial compared palbociclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) vs. ET alone in stage II-III HR+/HER2- breast cancer. SETER/PR index quantifies transcriptional activity related to estrogen and progesterone receptors and serves as a measure of endocrine sensitivity. In CALGB 9741, low SETER/PR (< 0.75) - reflecting endocrine resistance - predicted survival benefit from adjuvant anthracycline/taxane-based treatment. In PALLAS low SETER/PR was associated with worse prognosis and early recurrence. Early recurrences driven by endocrine-resistant tumors may obscure the benefit of palbociclib by disproportionately contributing events from a more resistant population. We hypothesized that palbociclib efficacy might vary by endocrine sensitivity and prior chemotherapy regimen, with greatest benefit in patients with intermediate SETER/PR index. Methods Invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) was summarized with Kaplan-Meier plots and the treatment arms were compared with a log-rank test. Cox models estimated the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) (significance level used was a two-sided 0.05). SETER/PR index was successfully obtained for 3,090 PALLAS patients (TransPALLAS ITT cohort, Metzger et al. ASCO 2024). SETER/PR index cut points (0.75 and 1.50) were proposed from previous studies comparing different adjuvant chemotherapy regimens. Results Table 1 summarizes the efficacy of adjuvant palbociclib by prior (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy regimen. Palbociclib was associated with longer iDFS in the group who received prior anthracycline-paclitaxel chemotherapy (AC-P), though the chemo regimen x palbociclib interaction term was not significant (Table 1). In the 1,132 patients from the TransPALLAS cohort who received AC-P chemotherapy, the 518 (46%) patients with intermediate SETER/PR (0.75≤ SETER/PR <1.50) had longer iDFS with palbociclib (HR 0.58; 95% CI: 0.40-0.84; p=0.004; 7-yr iDFS 80.2% vs. 68.4%), but this subset did not predict palbociclib benefit relative to all others, i.e., 206 (18%) patients with low SETER/PR (<0.75) and 408 (36%) high SETER/PR (≥1.50); P interaction=0.11. Exploratory analysis of SETER/PR index as a continuous variable in patients who received prior AC-P chemotherapy revealed a non-linear relationship with the hazard ratio favoring palbociclib observed in the subset with SETER/PR values between 1.1 and 1.8, compared to all others (P interaction=0.01). Conclusions In PALLAS, we observed a numerical benefit favoring palbociclib among pts treated with adjuvant AC-P; in this subset a moderate level of endocrine transcriptional activity (SETER/PR index between 1.1 and 1.8) predicted palbociclib benefit. These results are hypothesis-generating. Citation Format: O. Metzger, P. O'Brien, K. Ballman, M. Gnant, M. Watson, E. Chen, K. Tran, D. Hlauschek, M. Martin, J. Balko, Z. Nowecki, O. Hahn, C. Denkert, C. Curtis, F. Liu, A. Dueck, C. Fesl, E. Mayer, A. De Michele, W. Symmans. Exploratory analysis of palbociclib benefit in the PALLAS trial by SETERPR index and prior chemotherapy regimens (ABCSG-42/AFT-05/BIG-14-13) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS3-08-13.
Abstract PS2-07-13: Prognostic and predictive role of RBsig and CCNE1/RB1 gene-expression signatures for patients with early breast cancer treated with endocrine therapy with or without palbociclib in the PALLAS trial (ABCSG-42, AFT-05, BIG 14-03)
Malorni, L., Mayer, E. L., Benelli, M., Biganzoli, L., Migliaccio, Ilenia , Kermanidis, Anna Sophia, Pfeiler, G., Mamounas, E. P., Brufsky, A. M., Bellet-Ezquerra, M., Clifton, Katherine , Foukakis, T., Goetz, M. P., Lee, S., Ruiz-Borrego, M., Symmans, W. F., Ballman, K. V., Liu, F., Machacek-Link, J., Denkert, C., DeMichele, A. M., Gnant, M., Malorni, L., Hlauschek, Dominik , Benelli, Matteo , Biganzoli, Laura , Pfeiler, G., Mamounas, EP, Brufsky, Adam , Clifton, Katherine , Rubovsky, Gabor , Foukakis, Theodoros , Goetz, Matthew P. , Ruíz-Borrego, Manuel , Symmans, W. Fraser , Ballman, K. V., Machacek‐Link, Jana, DeMichele, Angela , Gnant, Michael

Clinical Cancer Research | February 17, 2026 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 4_Supplement | Pages: PS2-07-13-PS2-07-13

10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs25-ps2-07-13 Get It

Abstract Background: We have identified two potentially predictive signatures of palbociclib resistance: the RBsig, composed of E2F1/E2F2 dependent genes, which is associated with genetic loss of RB1, and the ratio between the gene expression levels of CCNE1 to RB1 (CCNE1/RB1). Both signatures have been previously analyzed in vitro and in neoadjuvant and metastatic studies with palbociclib. The present analysis aims to explore the role of RBsig and CCNE1/RB1 in the phase III adjuvant PALLAS trial, which randomized patients to palbociclib plus endocrine therapy, versus endocrine therapy alone. Materials and methods: Gene expression data from PALLAS were generated using the HTG EdgeSeq Oncology BM Panel. Of the 87 genes composing RBsig, 46 were available within the EdgeSeq dataset and were used for the analyses; CCNE1 and RB1 were both available. RBsig was calculated as the mean of the Z-score scaled gene expression (log) of the 46 genes; CCNE1/RB1 was computed as the log ratio between the mRNA expression of CCNE1 and RB1. The prognostic/predictive effect of the continuous signatures in terms of invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS), and overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Cox proportional hazard models. Results: HTG data were available from 2,587 of 5,748 patients from the entire PALLAS intention-to-treat (ITT) cohort. As RBsig and CCNE1/RB1 levels are affected by pre-surgical treatments, we limited the analyses to 1612 pre-treatment samples (530 core biopsies and 1082 surgical specimens) (analysis population). Compared with the entire PALLAS ITT cohort, the analysis population was significantly enriched for patients with low clinical risk (41.3% vs 59.4%) who did not receive prior chemotherapy (17.5% vs 55.9%). In keeping with the PALLAS ITT cohort, no significant benefit from the addition of palbociclib was observed in the analysis population. Higher baseline RBsig or CCNE/RB1 values were significantly and independently associated with worse IDFS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-2.0; HR 1.22, 95%CI 1.1-1.3, respectively), DRFS (HR 1.94, 95%CI 1.5-2.5; HR 1.26, 95%CI 1.1-1.4, respectively) and OS (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.3-2.4; HR 1.26, 95%CI 1.1-1.4, respectively) in the analysis population. No predictive effect of palbociclib benefit was observed for either signature in the analysis population, nor according to clinical risk or chemotherapy receipt. Interestingly, higher RBsig was strongly prognostic in patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (HR 1.83, 95%CI 1.4-2.3) but not in those who received it (HR 1.01, 95%CI 0.6-1.6) (interaction p=0.02) suggesting a potential predictive role of RBsig for chemotherapy benefit. Conclusions: In the PALLAS trial, higher baseline RBsig or CCNE1/RB1 values are associated with worse prognosis, but are not predictive of benefit from palbociclib in the adjuvant setting. RBsig might be associated with differential benefit from chemotherapy. Further study of these biomarkers may strengthen their role in risk stratification.https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org Citation Format: L. Malorni, D. Hlauschek, E. Mayer, M. Benelli, L. Biganzoli, I. Migliaccio, A. Kermanidis, G. Pfeiler, E. P. Mamounas, A. M. Brufsky, M. Bellet-Ezquerra, K. Clifton, G. Rubovszky, T. Foukakis, M. Goetz, S. Lee, M. Ruiz-Borrego, W. Symmans, K. V. Ballman, F. Liu, J. Machacek-Link, C. Denkert, A. DeMichele, M. Gnant. Prognostic and predictive role of RBsig and CCNE1/RB1 gene-expression signatures for patients with early breast cancer treated with endocrine therapy with or without palbociclib in the PALLAS trial (ABCSG-42, AFT-05, BIG 14-03) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS2-07-13.
Abstract PS1-13-17: Rna-based immune features associated with benefit from distinct microtubule inhibitor therapy for metastatic her2-negative breast cancer: a post hoc analysis of the calgb 40502 (alliance) phase iii randomized clinical trial
Blige, E. K., Ballman, K. V., Michmerhuizen, A. R., Vater, Mark, Carey, L. A., Partridge, A. H., Symmans, W. F., Watson, M. A., Perou, C. M., Stover, D. G., Rugo, H. S., Blige, E., Michmerhuizen, Anna R. , Partridge, Ann H. , Symmans, W. Fraser , Perou, Charles M. , Rugo, H. S.

Clinical Cancer Research | February 17, 2026 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 4_Supplement | Pages: PS1-13-17-PS1-13-17

10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs25-ps1-13-17 Get It

Abstract Background: Microtubule inhibitors remain a standard chemotherapy in the management of HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). CALGB (Alliance) 40502 was a phase 3 randomized study involving 799 patients with MBC receiving first-line chemotherapy, to determine the optimal chemotherapeutic agent among paclitaxel, nab-paclitaxel, or ixabepilone (with or without bevacizumab). Secondary analysis suggested inferior PFS with nab-paclitaxel specifically among patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+)/HER2-negative breast cancer. Correlative analysis demonstrated significant association of stromal tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) with improved progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in CALGB40502. We hypothesized that immune activation would be associated with differential benefit among distinct microtubule agents. To address this, we evaluated the sTILs and RNA-based immune features association with clinical outcomes, including evaluation of nab-paclitaxel versus paclitaxel. Methods: To limit heterogeneity, analyses focused on pre-treatment primary tumor breast samples with central review/pathologist-enumerated sTILs in accordance with International TILs Working Group methods and RNAseq (n = 280). PAM50 molecular subtypes were assigned based on transcriptomic features. RNAseq data were used to generate immune deconvolution estimates from 5 distinct algorithms (CIBERSORT, xCell, ABIS, ConsensusTME, ImmuCellAI). 1,018 curated breast cancer gene expression signatures GES) were derived from previously published studies. Associations between sTILs and GES were evaluated with sTILs being a categorical variable with the thresholds <5% (low) and (≥5%) high. Results: In the evaluable population, basal-like PAM50 subtype was enriched for high sTILs category (p=1e-4), as anticipated. T-cell and B-cell immune signatures and immune deconvolution estimates were among most highly associated with sTILs. In addition to the expected prognostic association of high T-cell GES, high B-cell-related IgG signature score was also significantly associated with improved overall survival (OS) among triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in CALGB 40502 (HR = 0.50,95% CI:0.30-0.86, log-rank p=0.01) but not in HR+/HER2-. In an exploratory analysis of young patients (age at study entry <50 years), high sTILs were associated with improved OS among TNBC patients but worse OS among those with HR+/HER2- MBC (HR = 2.19, 95% CI:1.10-4.36, log-rank p=0.022). High (above median) RNA-based Xcell total immune score was significantly associated with worse OS in both CALGB 40502 and a validation dataset of primary breast cancers, METABRIC (OS HR = 2.12, 95% CI:1.01-4.45, log-rank p=0.042). To further investigate the clinical trial finding of inferior PFS for nab-paclitaxel compared with paclitaxel in patients with HR+/HER2- MBC, there was a significant enrichment of T-cell signatures associated with poor outcome in patients receiving nab-paclitaxel (Fisher exact p<0.001). Conclusion: In this translational analysis of sTILs and RNAseq from a large phase III clinical trial, sTILs and immune signatures were not uniformly associated with better outcome. Rather, high sTILs or immune signatures were associated with worse OS in young patients with HR+/HER2- breast cancer and higher T-cell signatures were associated with inferior PFS with nab-paclitaxel among HR+/HER2- MBC patients. These data reinforce the importance of context/subtype-specific interrogation of the tumor-immune microenvironment Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882; https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS); Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00785291 Citation Format: E. K. Blige, K. V. Ballman, A. Michmerhuizen, M. Vater, L. A. Carey, A. H. Partridge, W. F. Symmans, M. A. Watson, C. M. Perou, D. G. Stover, H. S. Rugo. Rna-based immune features associated with benefit from distinct microtubule inhibitor therapy for metastatic her2-negative breast cancer: a post hoc analysis of the calgb 40502 (alliance) phase iii randomized clinical trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS1-13-17.
Abstract PS4-02-01: Differential early response to neoadjuvant endocrine therapy in lobular versus non-lobular breast cancer on the Endocrine Optimization Pilot (EOP) of the I-SPY2 Trial
Mukhtar, R., Norwood, P., Borowsky, A., Alkhafaji, S., Giridhar, K. V., Elias, A., Wei, M., Goetz, M. P., Olopade, O. I., Veer, L. J. van 't, Huppert, L. A., Symmans, W. F., Swigart, L. Brown, Wu, C., Yau, C., Yee, Don, Magbanua, M. J., Price, E., Hylton, N., Esserman, L. J., Chien, J., Norwood, Peter, Borowsky, A., Alkhafaji, Silver , Vaklavas, Christos , Elias, A., Goetz, Matthew P. , Onishi, Natsuko , Symmans, W. Fraser , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Wu, C., Yau, C., Yee, D., Magbanua, MJM, Hylton, N. M.

Clinical Cancer Research | February 17, 2026 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 4_Supplement | Pages: PS4-02-01-PS4-02-01

10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs25-ps4-02-01 Get It

Abstract Background Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) differs from invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) in its estrogen receptor (ER) signaling pathways, response to systemic therapy, and imaging features. We evaluated differences in early change in the proliferation marker Ki67 and features on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after novel endocrine based neoadjuvant therapy in lobular versus non-lobular cases on the I-SPY2 EOP Trial. Methods EOP is a prospective, randomized NET trial enriched for patients with ILC. Patients with stage II-III ER positive HER2 negative breast cancer with low molecular risk (Mammaprint low or Mammaprint Hi1 plus high Sensitivity to Endocrine therapy Index) were randomized to one of several endocrine therapy-based arms. Treatment arms include novel oral SERDS with or without CDK4/6 inhibitor, aromatase inhibitors, and SERMs with or without ovarian function suppression in pre-menopausal patients. Patients undergo repeat core needle biopsy with central Ki67 assessment after 3 weeks of treatment and serial breast MRI. Here, we compare endocrine therapy responsiveness as measured by change in Ki67 at 3 weeks and functional tumor volume (FTV) on pre-surgical MRI in lobular versus non-lobular cases. Results We evaluated 253 patients of whom 148 (58.5%) had non-lobular cancer (93.9% IDC), and 105 (41.5%) had lobular cancer (17.1% mixed ILC/IDC). Overall, mean age was 53.3 years, 63.8% of tumors were grade 2, and 86.5% were Mammaprint (MP) Low with the remaining being Hi1, with higher rates of MP Low in the lobular versus non-lobular cohorts (92.4% versus 83.4%, p=0.0358). At baseline, tumors in the lobular cohort had significantly lower mean Ki67 than those in the non-lobular cohort (11.2% [SD 12.8] versus 16.4% [SD 14.4%], p=0.0038). Consistent with this, the proportion with baseline tumor Ki67 <10% was significantly higher in the lobular cohort than the ductal cohort (60.4% versus 39.3%, p=0.001). At 3-week biopsy, mean Ki67 remained lower in the lobular versus non-lobular group (3.4% versus 5.4%, respectively, p=0.0415). The proportion of patients with Ki67 <10% at 3 weeks did not differ significantly between lobular and non-lobular cases (88.6% versus 79.7%, respectively, p=0.08). Among the 40 lobular cases and 88 non-lobular cases with baseline Ki67 ≥10%, week 3 Ki67 decreased to <10% in 90% of lobular cases and 72.7% of non-lobular cases (p=0.07). On MRI, mean FTV at baseline was similar among lobular and non-lobular cases (21 cc3 versus 16.3 cc3). On pre-surgical MRI, patients in the lobular cohort had significantly higher mean residual FTV than those in the non-lobular cohort (5.7 cc3 versus 3.8 cc3, p=0.034). Interestingly, when splitting the lobular cohort into mixed lobular and pure lobular, mean residual MRI FTV was 7.5 cc3 in mixed cases and 3.8 cc3 in pure lobular cases, reflecting that FTV decreased the least in mixed lobular cases (decrease of 51.1% in mixed cases, 69.7% in pure lobular cases, and 73.9% in non-lobular cases, p=0.0255). Conclusions These results highlight differences in lobular versus non-lobular breast cancer. Lobular cases had lower baseline Ki67, and similar rates of decrease in Ki67 after 3 weeks of NET than non-lobular cases. Despite this, mean FTV after completion of 6 months of NET was higher in lobular tumors. These findings may reflect differences in early versus late indicators of response to NET, or differential response patterns by histology. Alternatively, standard response measures such as Ki67 and FTV may need lobular-specific modifications. Ongoing work includes central assessment of Ki67 from surgical specimens, analysis of changes in gene expression signatures, and evaluation of surgical outcomes such as breast conservation rates by histologic subtype. Citation Format: R. Mukhtar, P. Norwood, A. Borowsky, S. Alkhafaji, K. Giridhar, C. Vaklavas, A. Elias, M. Wei, M. Goetz, N. Onishi, O. Olopade, L. Van 't Veer, L. Huppert, W. F. Symmans, L. Brown Swigart, C. Wu, C. Yau, D. Yee, M. Magbanua, E. Price, N. Hylton, L. Esserman, J. Chien. Differential early response to neoadjuvant endocrine therapy in lobular versus non-lobular breast cancer on the Endocrine Optimization Pilot (EOP) of the I-SPY2 Trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS4-02-01.
Abstract PD6-09: Quantifying the Contribution of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide (AC) to Pathologic Response Following Neoadjuvant Taxane Therapy: Analysis of the I-SPY2 TRIAL
Yee, Don, Yau, C., Norwood, P., Wolf, D. M., Pohlmann, P. R., Onishi, N., Veer, L. J. van 't, Borowsky, A. D., Symmans, W. F., Perlmutter, Jane , Boughey, J. C., Price, E., Li, W., Investigators, I-SPY, Hylton, N., Esserman, L. J., Yee, D., Norwood, Peter, Symmans, W. Fraser , Boughey, J. C., Investigators, I-SPY, Hylton, N. M., Esserman, L. J.

Clinical Cancer Research | February 17, 2026 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 4_Supplement | Pages: PD6-09-PD6-09

10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs25-pd6-09 Get It

Abstract Introduction: AC plus a taxane is standard neoadjuvant therapy for high-risk early breast cancer, but AC may be unnecessary for pathologic complete response (pCR) in many patients. I-SPY2 is a phase 2 trial evaluating the use of 12 weeks of paclitaxel +/- an investigational drug followed by AC. Serial measurements of Functional Tumor Volume (FTV) by MRI, inter-regimen biopsies and pathology from surgery were used to determine the contribution of AC to reduction in FTV or pCR. Methods: 1187 patients enrolled between 2010-2022 had serial measurements of FTV. 150 patients received an inter-regimen biopsy. The primary endpoint of I-SPY2 is pCR. To determine how much AC contributed to the reduction in FTV, we calculated the total FTV decrease between pre-treatment and pre-surgery, and then computed the percentage (%) of the total FTV decrease seen after 12 weeks of paclitaxel regimen. We attributed pCRs observed among patients for whom taxane contributed <90% FTV reduction to AC and estimated the % patients achieving pCR from AC. For the subset with inter-regimen biopsy, we estimated the percentage achieving pCR from those patients with invasive cancer present at inter-regimen biopsy. Results: We found that by week 12 (end of taxane), 64% (763/1187) of patients had achieved ≥90% of their total FTV reduction. In 424/1187 (36%) patients had with taxane <90% response, and subsequent AC contributed to more than 10% of the total decrease in FTV. 90 pCRs (21%) were observed among these 424 patients or, overall, approximately 8% of patients achieved pCR from AC after taxane. Of note, 54/1187 (4.5%) patients had no response to a taxane regimen and had decreased in FTV due to AC alone. Of the 54/1187 responding to AC only, there were 11 pCRs. These results varied by response predictive subtypes as shown. When the subpopulation with post-paclitaxel biopsy was examined, 63/150 (42%) patients had invasive cancer at this timepoint. 47 patients received AC and 4/47 (8.5%) achieved a pCR after AC. 13/47 (28%) achieved RCB 0/1. Conclusions: Serial measurements of FTV identifies patients who had a favorable response to a taxane regimen. For those with a suboptimal response, AC provided some contribution to further decrease in tumor volume. However, only a small fraction achieved a complete response. Immune positive and HER2+ (non-luminal) had the biggest benefit, with only 3-6% of other subtypes achieved pCR. Thus, AC can be reserved for those patients with suboptimal response to the initial taxane therapy. I-SPY2.2 utilizes these data to avoid AC by allowing patients to proceed to surgery after serial MRI and biopsy predict a pCR at an early timepoint. While AC remains the standard of care in many neoadjuvant regimens, the low response rates seen in I-SPY2 suggests that more active regimens need to be developed for patients with disease resistant to a taxane based therapy. Citation Format: D. Yee, C. Yau, P. Norwood, D. M. Wolf, P. R. Pohlmann, N. Onishi, L. van 't Veer, A. Borowsky, W. F. Symmans, J. Perlmutter, J. C. Boughey, E. Price, W. Li, I-SPY Investigators, N. Hylton, L. J. Esserman. Quantifying the Contribution of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide (AC) to Pathologic Response Following Neoadjuvant Taxane Therapy: Analysis of the I-SPY2 TRIAL [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD6-09.
Abstract PD10-02: I- SPY2 Endocrine Optimization Pilot (EOP): Neoadjuvant vepdegestrant monotherapy or in combination with letrozole or abemaciclib in molecularly selected patients with stage 2/3 HR+ HER2-negative breast cancer (BC)
Chien, J., Mukhtar, R. M., Yau, C., Elias, A. D., Wallace, A. M., Chan, Nymph , Omene, Coral , Chen, N., Tseng, J., Trivedi, M. S., Stringer-Reasor, E., Yee, Don, Clark, A. S., Thomas, A., Han, H. S., Arora, Mukesh K., Nangia, C., Albain, K. S., Falkson, C., Isaacs, C, Rozenblit, M., Veer, L. J. van't, Swigart, L. Brown, Hirst, G., Symmans, W. F., Borowsky, A. D., Hylton, N., Alkhafaji, S., Giridhar, K. V., Wei, M., Goetz, M. P., Olopade, O. I., Huppert, L. A., Wu, C., Esserman, L. J., Mukhtar, R., Elias, A., Wallace, A.M., Chan, N., Stringer-Reasor, Erica , Yee, D., Thomas, A., Han, HS, Falkson, Carla I. , Zimmer, Alexandra S. , Swigart, Lamorna Brown , Hirst, G. L., Symmans, W. Fraser , Onishi, Natsuko , Hylton, N. M., Alkhafaji, Silver , Vaklavas, Christos , Esserman, L. J.

Clinical Cancer Research | February 17, 2026 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 4_Supplement | Pages: PD10-02-PD10-02

10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs25-pd10-02 Get It

Abstract BACKGROUND: EOP is an I-SPY2 sub-study designed to test novel endocrine-based strategies in patients (pts) predicted to have modest benefit from chemotherapy. Vepdegestrant is a selective oral PROTAC estrogen receptor (ER) degrader that has demonstrated efficacy in mutant ER+ HER2-negative MBC. METHODS: EOP eligibility included pts with Stage 2/3 HR+ HER2-negative, MammaPrint (MP) Low Risk BC. Patients with MP High1 signatures were eligible if clinically node-negative or SET 2,3 High. Pts were randomized to one of 3 oral treatment (tx) arms: vepdegestrant 200 mg/d (V), vepdegestrant 200 mg/d +letrozole (VL), vepdegestrant 200 mg/d + abemaciclib 150 mg bid (VA). Pts received tx for six 28-day cycles followed by surgery. Premenopausal (PreMN) pts received ovarian function suppression (OFS) starting C1D1 in the VL arm, and C2D1 in the V and VA arms. The primary endpoint was feasibility, defined as >75% of pts completing >75% of study therapy. Breast MRI functional tumor volume (FTV) and ctDNA (tumor-informed assay) were assessed at baseline (T0), 3 weeks (T1), 12 weeks (T2), and 6 months (T3). Ki67 and ER/PR by IHC were centrally assessed from tumor biopsies at T0, T1, and the surgical specimen. Results: Between 4/2023 and 1/2025, 121 pts were enrolled: 40 in V, 41 in VL, and 40 in VA. Median age was 54 years, 50% preMN. 60% of pts had ductal, 35% lobular, 5% mixed histology. 55% were cN+, and 59% were not breast conservation surgery (BCS) candidates at baseline. Mean baseline Ki67 was 12.5%, 85.1% had MP Low Risk signature, 79.3% were SET 2,3 High. All 3 tx arms met the primary endpoint with 88%, 88%, and 83% completing > 75% study therapy in V, VL, and VA (thus far), respectively. Most common all grade (AG) TRAEs in V and VL arms include fatigue (53% V, 71% VL), hot flashes (48% V, 71% VL), arthralgias (33% V, 49% VL), all G1 or G2 except for 1 G3 fatigue in VL arm. G2 and G3 neutropenia was seen in 1 pt each in V and VL arms. The most common AG TRAEs in VA include diarrhea (80%), fatigue (65%), nausea (58%), hot flashes (50%), neutropenia (43%). High grade TRAEs in VA include neutropenia (23% G3, 5% G4), ovarian cyst requiring surgery (5% G3), diarrhea (15% G3), nausea (3% G3), transaminitis (3% G3), thromboembolic event (8% G3), acute kidney injury (3% G3). Table 1 summarizes key response endpoints by tx arm. CONCLUSION: Six months of neoadjuvant vepdegestrant, alone or in combination with letrozole or abemaciclib, is feasible and demonstrates robust ER/PR degradation. Encouraging anti-tumor activity through reduction of Ki67 and MRI FTV, ctDNA clearance, and achievement of BCS was seen in pre- and postMN women. The neoadjuvant setting provides a rich platform to identify the dynamic range of response and non-response using a multi-modal approach and can be leveraged to inform future trial design and adjuvant therapy. Citation Format: J. Chien, R. M. Mukhtar, C. Yau, A. D. Elias, A. M. Wallace, N. Chan, C. Omene, N. Chen, J. Tseng, M. S. Trivedi, E. Stringer-Reasor, D. Yee, A. S. Clark, A. Thomas, H. Han, M. Arora, C. Nangia, K. Albain, C. Falkson, C. Isaacs, A. Zimmer, M. Rozenblit, L. van't Veer, L. Brown Swigart, G. Hirst, W. Symmans, A. D. Borowsky, N. Onishi, N. Hylton, S. Alkhafaji, K. V. Giridhar, C. Vaklavas, M. Wei, M. P. Goetz, O. Olopade, L. Huppert, C. Wu, L. J. Esserman. I- SPY2 Endocrine Optimization Pilot (EOP): Neoadjuvant vepdegestrant monotherapy or in combination with letrozole or abemaciclib in molecularly selected patients with stage 2/3 HR+ HER2-negative breast cancer (BC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD10-02.