Gal-Yam, E. Nili

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 Background: Most patients with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), metastatic breast cancer (mBC) treated with endocrine therapy (ET) will ultimately develop resistance. A large unmet need exists especially when resistance occurs following treatment with a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i), which is potentially driven by a mutation in the ERα-coding gene, ESR1. Lasofoxifene (LAS), an oral, next-generation ET and ER breast antagonist, was evaluated in two phase 2 studies of women with ER+/HER2- mBC and an ESR1 mutation who had disease progression on previous ET and CDK4/6i. In the ELAINE 1 trial, LAS monotherapy provided numerically greater progression-free survival (PFS, median 5.6 mos vs 3.7 mos; HR: 0.669 [95% CI, 0.445‒1.125], P=0.138), objective response rate (ORR, 13% vs 3%; P=0.124), and clinical benefit rate (CBR, 37% vs 22%; P=0.117) compared with the ER degrader fulvestrant (fulv), with a favorable safety profile (Goetz MP et al. Ann Oncol 2023;34:1141‒51). The single-arm, ELAINE 2 trial showed that LAS combined with abemaciclib (Abema) was well tolerated with a median PFS of ∼13 mos, ORR of 56%, and CBR of 66% (Damodaran S et al. Ann Oncol 2023;34:1131‒40). The phase 3, registrational, ELAINE 3 trial was initiated based on these promising earlier-phase data. Recent results from postMONARCH confirmed superior efficacy of fulv/Abema over fulv/placebo (mPFS 6.0 mos vs 5.3 mos, HR 0.73 [0.57‒0.95], nominal P-value 0.017) in non-biomarker‒selected, mBC patients after progression on a prior CDK4/6i and aromatase inhibitor (AI), with similar HR in an ESR1-mutated cohort (Kalinsky K et al. J Clin Oncol 2025;43:1101‒12). Additionally, recent data from EMBER-3 demonstrated meaningful PFS with a novel ET combined with abemaciclib after progression on AI/CDK4/6i (Jhaveri KL et al. N Engl J Med 2025;392:1189‒202). The ELAINE 3, global trial will compare LAS/Abema with fulv/Abema in a post-CDK4/6i, ESR1-mutation‒selected, mBC population. Methods: ELAINE 3 (NCT05696626) is an open-label, phase 3, multicenter study evaluating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of LAS plus Abema versus fulv plus Abema. Patients are being enrolled at approximately 152 sites in 13 countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Italy, Israel, Poland, Romania, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States). Key inclusion criteria are pre- and postmenopausal women and men aged ≥18 yrs; ER+/HER2-, locally advanced and/or mBC (measurable and/or non-measurable disease); ≥1 acquired ESR1 mutation; progression on an AI plus palbociclib or ribociclib as their first hormonal treatment for advanced/mBC; and ≤1 line of chemotherapy in the advanced/metastatic setting. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive LAS 5 mg/day plus Abema 150 mg BID, or fulv 500 mg IM (days 1, 15, and 29, then once monthly) plus Abema 150 mg BID. Treatment will continue until progression, death, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal from the study. The primary endpoint is PFS per RESIST 1.1 by blinded independent central review (BICR); key secondary endpoints are ORR, overall survival, CBR, duration of response, and time to response. Safety, time to cytotoxic chemotherapy, and quality of life (including vaginal health) will also be evaluated. Blood samples for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) will be collected for genomic analyses at screening, at weeks 4 and 8 and every 8 weeks thereafter, and at the final visit. Outcomes with LAS/Abema and fulv/Abema will be compared using a stratified Cox proportional hazards model and stratified logrank test with an expected PFS hazard ratio of 0.68 at final analysis. Enrollment is currently ongoing to meet the target sample size of 500 patients. Citation Format: M. P. Goetz, S. A. Wander, T. Bachelot, G. Curigliano, A. de Nonneville, E. N. Gal-Yam, K. Jhaveri, S. L. Sammons, S. Shen, C. J. Twelves, G. Gasper, P. V. Plourde, D. J. Portman, S. Damodaran. Open-label, randomized, multicenter, phase 3, ELAINE 3 study of the efficacy and safety of lasofoxifene plus abemaciclib for treating ER+/HER2-, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with an ESR1 mutation [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 PS5-07-30.