Citations

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 .

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%

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.

1015 Background: T-DXd is an antibody-drug conjugate approved for advanced HER2+/low/ultra-low breast cancer and multiple other solid tumors. T-DXd carries a rare but serious risk of ILD (incidence 12-15%), requiring frequent imaging and symptom evaluation. For > grade (G) 2 ILD, guidelines recommend permanent drug discontinuation. For asymptomatic G1 ILD, drug is held with the option for rechallenge (RC) if imaging findings resolve. Limited data exist on outcomes of RC after ILD in diverse real-world patients (pts). Methods: In this multi-center retrospective study, we analyzed pts with T-DXd related ILD treated from 2017-2024. Pts with ILD were identified via chart/ICD code review. Adjudication of T-DXd related ILD was based on treating providers’ assessment and graded via CTCAE v5. We collected pt demographics, T-DXd and steroid dosing, imaging results, and outcomes after RC. Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon rank sum and Fisher’s exact tests. Results: Four centers treated 712 pts with T-DXd, with a 9.1% rate of any grade ILD (n=65). One other center reported only RC data in 18 pts with ILD. In total, 47 pts were RC; 38 after G1 ILD (81%), 9 after G2. Median (med) time to initial ILD was 145 days (d) after 1st dose (interquartile range [IQR] 78-205). Demographics for pts RC are shown in the table. Among 50 pts with G1 ILD, including pts not RC, 28/50 (56%) received steroids for a med of 36d (IQR 27-79). Radiographic improvement was seen at a med of 24d (IQR 19-63) for pts treated with steroids vs 82d (IQR 48-94) without (p<0.01); and a med of 35d (IQR 22-82) for pts RC vs 81d (IQR 68-105) for pts not RC (p=0.01). Among pts with G1 ILD, 38/50 (76%) were RC at a med of 42d (IQR 36-57) from last dose; 23/38 (61%) were dose reduced. After RC, pts remained on T-DXd for a med of 215d (IQR 60-334); 10/38 (26%) developed recurrent ILD (7-G1, 2-G2, 1-G3) at a med of 211d (IQR 47-273) from RC. No statistically significant differences were seen between ILD onset, time to RC, or demographics for pts with recurrent ILD vs not. Of the 9 pts RC after G2 ILD, T-DXd was continued for a med of 129d (IQR 49-171); 2/9 (22%) developed recurrent ILD (1-G2, 1-G3). No G5 toxicity was seen with RC. Conclusions: In this multi-center study, high RC rates were seen after G1 ILD with long duration of clinical benefit. Pts treated with steroids had faster radiographic ILD improvement, highlighting the importance of early steroid use. Among pts RC after G1 ILD, recurrent ILD rates were low, with the majority G1 and no G5 events. Notably, 9 pts with G2 ILD were RC, with a similar rate of recurrent ILD; this must be interpreted cautiously. Our large cohort data further supports the safety of T-DXd RC in diverse real-world settings. RC Pt Characteristics (n=47) n (%) or Median (IQR) Cancer typeBreastGIGyn 43 (91)3 (6)1 (2) Age (yrs) 57 (52-68) Prior # therapy lines in the advanced/metastatic setting 3 (1-5) Renal impairment (CrCl < 60 mL/min) 8 (17)

Abstract Purpose: The aim of PREDICT was to confirm clinical validity and the potential for clinical utility of serial circulating tumor cell (CTC) enumeration in patients with metastatic breast cancer, focusing on its prognostic value in different breast cancer subtypes and clinical settings. Experimental Design: In total, 4,436 individual patient-level data with CTC results from both baseline and one follow-up (CellSearch; Menarini Silicon Biosystems) were analyzed to evaluate the association between CTC detection and overall survival (OS) in the full patient cohort and separately for tumor and treatment types. Results: Using the cutoff ≥1 CTC for CTC positivity, 913 (20.6%) patients had 0 CTCs at both time points (neg/neg) and 325 (7.3%) and 1,189 (26.8%) patients converted from CTC negative to CTC positive (neg/pos) or vice versa (pos/neg), whereas 2,009 (45.3%) patients had at least one CTC at both time points (pos/pos). The median OS for the neg/neg, neg/pos, pos/neg, and pos/pos group was 45.6, 26.1, 32.3, and 17.3 months, respectively (P &lt; 0.0001, global log-rank test). CTC responders (pos/neg) showed a lower risk of death compared with CTC nonresponders (pos/pos; HR, 0.48; 95% confidence interval, 0.44–0.53). Similar results were obtained in subgroup analyses according to hormone receptor and HER2 subtype, treatment type, and with a ≥5 CTC cutoff for CTC positivity. Conclusions: Follow-up CTC assessments strongly predict OS independently from tumor subtype and treatment. New randomized trials to define the clinical utility of CTC monitoring for risk stratification and as an early response marker in metastatic breast cancer are urgently needed.

Breast cancer is treated with a multidisciplinary approach involving surgical oncology, radiation oncology, and medical oncology. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Breast Cancer include recommendations for clinical management of patients with carcinoma in situ, invasive breast cancer, Paget’s disease, Phyllodes tumor, inflammatory breast cancer, and management of breast cancer during pregnancy. The content featured in this issue focuses on the recommendations for overall management of systemic therapy (preoperative and adjuvant) options for nonmetastatic breast cancer. For the full version of the NCCN Guidelines for Breast Cancer, visit NCCN.org .

Abstract Background The PALLAS trial investigated the addition of palbociclib to standard adjuvant endocrine therapy reduces breast cancer recurrence. This pre-specified analysis was conducted to determine whether adjuvant palbociclib benefited patients diagnosed with lower risk stage IIA disease compared to those with higher stage disease. Methods PALLAS was an international, multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase III trial, representing a public-private partnership between Pfizer, the Austrian Breast Cancer Study Group and, the U.S. ALLIANCE Foundation. Patients diagnosed with stage II-III, hormone-receptor-positive, HER2/neu negative breast cancer who were within 12 months of diagnosis, and had completed all definitive therapy aside from endocrine therapy, which was started within 6 months prior to study entry. All patients were required to submit a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor block. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive standard adjuvant endocrine therapy (of physicians’ choice) for at least 5 years with or without 2 years of Palbociclib, administered orally at a starting dose of 125 mg daily, given for 21 days followed by a 7-day break. Results A total of 5,796 patients with HR+/HER2- early breast cancer (including 1,010 with stage IIA) were enrolled. Median follow-up was 50 months for stage IIA patients and 43.1 months overall. In the stage IIA cohort, four-year iDFS in the palbociclib arm was 92.9% versus 92.1% for ET alone (HR 0.75, 95%CI 0.48–1.19, p = 0.23). There was no differential benefit by histologic grade, chemotherapy receipt, age, or anatomic/clinical risk. Additionally, no benefit to palbociclib was seen in this cohort in invasive breast cancer-free survival (iBCFS), locoregional relapse-free survival (LRFS), distant relapse-free survival (DRFS), or overall survival (OS). For the stage IIB/III patients, 4-year iDFS was 85.3% for palbociclib + ET versus 83.6% for ET alone (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.77–1.07, p = 0.24). Conclusions and Relevance: While there were substantial differences in outcome for stage IIA versus IIB/III patients at 4 years of follow-up, the addition of 2 years of palbociclib did not improve outcomes for patients, regardless of stage. Trial Registration: The study was registered on Clinicaltrials.gov on July 31, 2015, and was assigned the clinical trial number (NCT02513394).

601 Background: EOP is an I-SPY2 neoadjuvant sub-study designed to test the tolerability and impact of novel endocrine-based strategies in stage 2/3 BC pts predicted to have lower benefit from chemotherapy. Amcenestrant (A) is an oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) with activity in hormone receptor positive (HR+) HER2- metastatic BC. Methods: EOP eligibility included pts screened for the main I-SPY2 trial with HR+ HER2-, MammaPrint (MP) low risk Stage 2/3 BC. Pts with MP High risk tumor signatures were eligible if clinically node-negative (cN-). Pts were stratified by SET index and menopausal status. Pts were randomized to 3 arms: A 200 mg qd (A), A + abemaciclib 150 mg bid (AA), A + letrozole 2.5 mg qd (AL). Premenopausal pts received concurrent ovarian function suppression. Treatment was for 6 mos followed by surgery. Baseline (BL) and 3-wk biopsies were performed. Breast MRIs were conducted at BL (T0), 3 wks (T1), 12 wks (T2), 6 mos (T3). The primary endpoint was feasibility, defined as >75% of pts completing >75% study therapy. Results: Between May 2021 and Aug 2022, 74 pts were randomized: 31 A, 21 AA, 22 AL. Median age 50 years, 54% premenopausal, 38% clinically node-positive (cN+). 41% pts had ductal, 38% lobular, 11% mixed ductal/lobular histology. Mean BL tumor Ki67 (central testing) was 16.9%, 88% MP low, 76% SET index Hi. Pt and tumor characteristics were balanced across the 3 arms. Treatment in all 3 arms was feasible with 95% of pts completing >75% study therapy. Most common AEs include grade 1-2 hot flashes (69%) and fatigue (66%). Grade 3 AEs include neutropenia (2 pts) and diarrhea (1 pt) in AA. Table summarizes key response endpoints, which were similar between pre- and postmenopausal pts. Of 28 cN+ pts, 2 (7%) were pathologically node-negative (pN-). Mean MRI Functional Tumor Volume (cc) change between T0->T1, T1->T2, T2->T3, T0->T3 was -6.06 (-34.2%), -3.55 (-29.2%), -0.829 (-20.1%), -11.3 (-68.4%), respectively, similar across arms (p=0.396).ctDNA was detected in 10/59 (17%) pts at T0. ctDNA became undetectable in 6 pts, decreased in 4 pts, and went from ctDNA undetectable at baseline to detectable at T3 in 2 pts. Conclusions: Six months of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) with the oral SERD amcenestrant is feasible, well-tolerated, and demonstrates anti-proliferative and anti-tumor activity in pre- and postmenopausal pts. NET provides a rich platform for biomarker discovery and investigating response to endocrine therapy. Clinical trial information: NCT01042379 . [Table: see text]

AbstractBackgroundThe management of early breast cancer (BC) has witnessed an uprise in the use of neoadjuvant therapy and a remarkable reshaping of the systemic therapy postneoadjuvant treatment in the last few years, with the evolution of many controversial clinical situations that require consensus.MethodsDuring the 14th Breast‐Gynecological and Immuno‐Oncology International Cancer Conference held in Egypt in 2022, a panel of 44 BC experts from 13 countries voted on statements concerning debatable challenges in the neo/adjuvant treatment setting. The recommendations were subsequently updated based on the most recent data emerging. A modified Delphi approach was used to develop this consensus. A consensus was achieved when ≥75% of voters selected an answer.Results and ConclusionsThe consensus recommendations addressed different escalation and de‐escalation strategies in the setting of neoadjuvant therapy for early BC. The recommendations recapitulate the available clinical evidence and expert opinion to individualize patient management and optimize therapy outcomes. Consensus was reached in 63% of the statements (52/83), and the rationale behind each statement was clarified.

PURPOSE Long-term outcomes of patients with stage I human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive breast cancer receiving adjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) remain undefined, and prognostic predictors represent an unmet need. METHODS In the ATEMPT phase II trial, patients with stage I centrally confirmed HER2-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned 3:1 to adjuvant T-DM1 for 1 year or paclitaxel plus trastuzumab (TH). Coprimary objectives were to compare the incidence of clinically relevant toxicities between arms and to evaluate invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) with T-DM1. Correlative analyses included the HER2DX genomic tool, multiomic evaluations of HER2 heterogeneity, and predictors of thrombocytopenia. RESULTS After a median follow-up of 5.8 years, 11 iDFS events were observed in the T-DM1 arm, consistent with a 5-year iDFS of 97.0% (95% CI, 95.2 to 98.7). At 5 years, the recurrence-free interval (RFI) was 98.3% (95% CI, 97.0 to 99.7), the overall survival was 97.8% (95% CI, 96.3 to 99.3), and the breast cancer-specific survival was 99.4% (95% CI, 98.6 to 100). Comparable iDFS was observed with T-DM1 irrespective of tumor size, hormone receptor status, centrally determined HER2 immunohistochemical score, and receipt of T-DM1 for more or less than 6 months. Although ATEMPT was not powered for this end point, the 5-year iDFS in the TH arm was 91.1%. Among patients with sufficient tissue for HER2DX testing (n = 187), 5-year outcomes significantly differed according to HER2DX risk score, with better RFI (98.1% v 81.8%, hazard ratio [HR], 0.10, P = .01) and iDFS (96.3% v 81.8%, HR, 0.20, P = .047) among patients with HER2DX low-risk versus high-risk tumors, respectively. CONCLUSION Adjuvant T-DM1 for 1 year leads to outstanding long-term outcomes for patients with stage I HER2-positive breast cancer. A high HER2DX risk score predicted a higher risk of recurrence in ATEMPT.