Ingle, James N.

510 Background: Several studies have established the critical role of preexisting immune response in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Most studies evaluated the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in stroma. However, limited data are available with regards to the importance of specific subtypes and spatial distribution of these immune infiltrates. Methods: NanoString IO360 gene expression analysis and Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) were used. DSP was used to quantify 39 immune-related proteins in stromal and tumor-enriched segments from 44 TNBC samples from the FinXX trial (NCT00114816) and 335 samples from the Mayo Clinic (MC) cohort of centrally reviewed TNBC (Leon-Ferre BCRT 2018). In FinXX trial, 22 patients with recurrence and 22 patients without recurrence were included. In MC cohort, 217/335 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy while 118 patients had surgery only without adjuvant chemotherapy. Regions were segmented based on pancytokeratin staining. The general linear model was used for statistical analysis of differential expression with recurrence free survival (RFS) as a categorical variable (recur yes or no). Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox regression models were also used for analysis. Results: In the FinXX trial, using global gene expression analysis with IO360, there was no signature significantly associated with RFS. However, using DSP, high protein expression of CD56 in the tumor-enriched segments was associated with significant improvement in RFS (HR 0.26, 95%CI 0.09-0.78, p 0.01). Nevertheless, CD56 expression in the stroma (HR 0.66, 95%CI 0.29-1.53, p 0.33) and all segments (HR 0.53, 95%CI 0.23-1.25, p 0.14) was not significantly associated with improved outcome. We further validated these findings in the MC TNBC cohort where intratumoral CD56 expression was associated with a significant improvement in RFS (HR 0.23, p 0.002) but not stromal CD56 (p 0.79). Interestingly, when evaluating the MC TNBC cohort according to receipt of chemotherapy, intratumoral CD56 was associated with improved outcome only in patients who received chemotherapy (p 0.02 vs. 0.07). In both cohorts, higher expressions of intratumoral PD-L1, HLA-DR, and CD8 were associated with improved outcome. Conclusions: Using an in-depth analysis with spatially defined context, we identify that intratumoral CD56-positive NK cells are associated with improved outcome in TNBC. Our study highlights the potential role of NK cells in TNBC and future implications for biomarkers and therapeutic targets.Support: W81XWH-15-1-0292, P50CA116201-9, P50CA015083. Clinical trial information: NCT00114816 .

Abstract Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) affects approximately 15-20% of BC patients, yet accounts for a disproportionately higher rate of BC morbidity and mortality, in part due to lack of targeted therapies. We have shown that estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) is expressed in approximately 20% of TN breast tumors and that ligand-mediated activation of ERβ with estradiol (E2) or ERβ-selective agonists decreases tumor cell proliferation, invasion and migration in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the mechanisms by which ERβ elicits its anti-cancer effects in TNBC. RNAseq analysis of ERβ-expressing MDA-MB-231 cells demonstrated that ERβ significantly downregulates NFκB signaling in the presence of E2. ChIPseq for ERβ in these cells revealed that ERβ primarily associated with estrogen response elements, but 12% of all ERβ binding sites were located at NFκB consensus motifs. Using an NFκB reporter construct and qPCR, ERβ was shown to block TNFα-mediated induction of NFκB signaling and NFκB target gene expression. RNAseq analysis of MDA-MB-231-ERβ cells treated with TNFα or E2+TNFα revealed substantial global inhibition of TNFα regulated genes in the presence of E2. ChIPseq for NFκB demonstrated that ERβ significantly alters NFκB’s cistrome whereby it can both diminish NFκB binding and redistribute NFκB throughout the genome. ChIPseq also demonstrated that ligand-mediated activation of ERβ significantly diminished an activating histone mark (H3K27Ac) at many of these NFκB target genes while enhancing a repressive mark (H3K27Me3). The addition of H3K27Me3 at these loci was shown to occur through the recruitment of the histone methyltransferase, EZH2. Drug-mediated blockade of EZH2 activity reversed suppression of NFκB target gene expression by ERβ. Knockdown of NFκB or Mutation of ERβ’s DNA binding domain rendered ERβ incapable of associating with DNA, recruiting EZH2, methylating NFκB target gene loci, repressing NFκB target gene expression and inhibiting proliferation. Interestingly, ERβ was shown to elicit more potent anti-cancer effects in TNBC cells expression a constitutively active form of NFκB. These finding suggest that a primary mechanism by which ERβ functions as a tumor suppressor is through inhibition of NFκB pathway activity. Our studies have also revealed that ERβ functions as a molecular switch for EZH2 and repurposes it for tumor suppressive activities, as EZH2 has previously been reported to enrich NFκB signaling in TNBC. These findings could address the paradox that high EZH2 expression is associated with worse TNBC patient outcomes, while high H3K27Me3 expression is associated with improved patient outcomes. Currently, a Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE prospective phase II clinical trial is underway to investigate the efficacy of estradiol for the treatment of metastatic ERβ+TNBC and to further evaluate the cross-talk between ERβ, EZH2 and NFκB signaling.

Abstract Background: Endx is a Tam metabolite with promising antitumor activity in Tam and aromatase inhibitor (AI) resistant estrogen receptor (ER) positive (+) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Methods: This randomized phase II study compared progression-free survival (PFS) and toxicity of Endx 80 mg/day to Tam 20 mg/day in patients (pts) with ER+ MBC. Eligibility included postmenopausal women, ECOG PS 0-2, prior progression on AI but not Tam (unlimited endocrine therapy [ET] lines allowed), and a preregistration biopsy confirming ER+ (>10% nuclear staining) and HER2-negative MBC. Stratified randomization was used balancing prior CDK 4/6 inhibitor (CDK 4/6i) use and/or everolimus (yes/no), measurable disease (yes/no) and endocrine resistance (primary/secondary) between arms. Pts randomized to Tam were allowed to cross over to Endx at progression. Due to short expected median PFS, differences in PFS were assessed using approaches for interval-censored data (ICD). 40 eligible pts were to be randomized to each arm so a one-sided alpha=0.10 generalized log-rank test (GLRT) would have a 90% chance of detecting a 50% decrease in hazard of disease progression with Endx (median: 6 months) relative to Tam (median: 3 months). Secondary endpoints include clinical benefit rate (stable or partial response > 6 cycles) (CBR) for measurable and non-measurable disease. Pharmacokinetic (PK) data were obtained Day (d) 1 (4 hour), end of cycle 2, and at time of progression. Results: From March 2015 to March 2017, 108 women with endocrine refractory recurrent or MBC were preregistered. 27 pts did not register due to: biopsy demonstrating ER-/HER2- (3 pts), ER+/HER2+ (5 pts), cancer other than breast (3 pts), no cancer in specimen (6 pts), brain metastases (2 pts), acute infection (1 pt), progression on or recent use of Tam (2 pts), or pt refusal (5 pts). 4/81 pts who registered were excluded due to ineligibility (3 pts) or refusal to start protocol treatment (1 pt). The study cohort consisted of 40 pts randomized to Endx and 37 pts to Tam. The median (m) number of ETs in the metastatic setting was 2 (range 1-4) for each arm including prior CDK 4/6i (Endx: 42.5%, Tam: 29.7%) and everolimus (Endx: 35.0%, Tam: 40.5%). The m cycle number was 6 for Endx (range: 1-35) and 3 for Tam (range: 1-42). PFS for Endx was not significantly different compared to Tam (HR= 0.77; 95% CI: 0.49-1.22, GLRT p=0.309; mPFS: Endx 130 days [95% CI: 76-138 days] and Tam 42 days [95%CI: 24-129 days]). However, PFS was significantly longer in pts with no prior CDK 4/6i in the Endx arm (GLRT p=0.002; HR(no/yes)=0.31; 95%CI: 0.15-0.65) but not in the Tam arm (GLRT p=0.708) (unplanned analysis). Severe (grade (G) 3+) toxicities included: Endx G3 hypertriglyceridemia (3 pts); Tam: G3 hypertension with G2 stroke (1 pt), G3 thromboembolic event (1 pt), and G3 abdominal, bone and liver pain (1 pt). In Endx arm, d1 m Endx plasma concentration (conc) was 216 ng/ml (n=17; range: 144-400). For Tam arm, d1 m Tam conc was 17 ng/ml (n=17; range:11-23) (Endx not detectable). For the 25 pts that crossed over to Endx, CBR was 28.0% (90% CI: 14.0-46.2%) and 14 pts had pk data at progression. A lower median Endx conc (6 ng/ml range: 3.3-16.3) was observed in Tam patients at progression who then had Endx clinical benefit compared to Tam pts without clinical benefit after Endx crossover (median Endx 12 ng/ml; range 4.4-36.6).Conclusions: In endocrine-resistant breast cancer, Z-Endx was not significantly superior to Tam, but clinical benefit was observed in 28% that crossed over to Endx after Tam progression. In pts with no prior CDK 4/6i, the observation of significantly longer PFS in the Endx arm is hypothesis generating. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, U24CA196171, U10CA180820 (ECOG-ACRIN), https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org; Clinical Trials.gov Identifier:NCT02311933 Citation Format: Matthew P. Goetz, Vera J Suman, Joel M Reid, Mary Kuffel, Sarah A Buhrow, Renee M McGovern, John Black, Travis Dockter, William F Symmans, Minetta C Liu, John R Hawse, James Doroshow, Anna M Storniolo, Jerry M Collins, Howard Streicher, Matthew M Ames, James N Ingle, Ann Partridge, Lisa Carey. A randomized phase II trial of tamoxifen versus Z-endoxifen HCL in postmenopausal women with metastatic estrogen receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD7-06.

Abstract Background: Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) affects approximately 15-20% of BC patients, yet accounts for a disproportionately higher rate of BC morbidity and mortality, in part due to lack of targeted therapies. Using well-validated antibodies, we have found that estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) protein is expressed in approximately 20% of TN breast tumors. We have demonstrated that ligand-mediated activation of ERβ with estradiol (E2) or ERβ-selective agonists decreases tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and migration in vitro, as well as primary tumor growth and metastatic spread in vivo. As such, we aimed to elucidate the mechanisms by which ERβ elicits its anti-cancer effects in TNBC. Methods: RNAseq and ChIPseq were used to identify ERβ and NFκB regulomes and cistromes in TNBC cells. The global effects of ERβ on H3K27Ac and H3K27Me3 were also assessed via ChIPseq. The influence of ERβ on NFκB signaling was determined using co-immunoprecipitation, luciferase assays transcriptional readouts and ChIPseq. The involvement of EZH2 in mediating ERβ’s suppression of NFκB signaling and cancer cell phenotypes was determined using pharmacological approaches. Results: Pathway analysis of ERβ-regulated genes identified NFκB and inflammatory signaling as being highly suppressed in response to E2 treatment. Numerous NFκB target genes were among the most down-regulated genes by ERβ. ChIPseq revealed that ERβ primarily associated with estrogen response elements (EREs), but was also highly enriched at NFκB binding sites following E2 treatment. However, ERβ had no impact on TNFα-mediated NFκB phosphorylation or nuclear localization, but was shown to physically associate with NFκB protein. Using an NFκB reporter construct and qPCR, ERβ was shown to block TNFα-mediated induction of NFκB signaling and NFκB target gene expression. Globally, RNAseq identified 373 genes to be significantly regulated by TNFα in TNBC cells, of which 107 were blocked in the presence of E2+TNFα. Interestingly, E2+TNFα treatment induced novel NFκB binding sites compared to TNFα alone as identified by ChIPseq for NFκB. ChIPseq also demonstrated that ligand-mediated activation of ERβ significantly diminished an activating histone mark (H3K27Ac) at many of these NFκB target genes while enhancing a repressive mark (H3K27Me3). These modifications were shown to occur through the recruitment of the histone methyltransferase, EZH2, to enhancer elements of these NFκB target genes. Drug-mediated blockade of EZH2 activity reversed suppression of NFκB target gene expression by ERβ. Finally, knockdown of NFκB expression inhibited the anti-cancer effects of ERβ while expression of a constitutively active form of NFκB enhanced ERβ’s inhibitory effects. Conclusions: Our data suggest that ERβ elicits its anti-cancer effects, in part, via formation of a novel co-repressor complex consisting of ERβ, NFκB, and EZH2. These data are in keeping with prior observations of the importance of NFκB signaling as it relates to TNBC cell proliferation and invasion, and that decreased expression of NFκB target genes is associated with improved outcomes in TNBC patients. Currently, a Mayo Breast SPORE prospective study is underway to investigate the efficacy of estradiol for the treatment of metastatic ERβ+TNBC and to further evaluate the cross-talk between ERβ and NFκB signaling. Citation Format: Kirsten GM Aspros, Adam W Nelson, Zhenqing Ye, Zhifu Sun, Igor Chernukhin, Jason S Carroll, James N Ingle, Matthew P Goetz, John R Hawse. Estrogen receptor beta repurposes EZH2 to inhibit oncogenic NFκB signaling in triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-05-02.

Abstract Background: Evidence from randomized trials, including a recent meta-analysis, suggests that adjuvant bisphosphonates can decrease recurrence and death in postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer. Bisphosphonates (BP) have been included as adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal breast cancer patients in multiple guidelines. SWOG S0307 compared efficacy of 3 BPs in early stage breast cancer, with no evidence of differences in efficacy on breast cancer outcomes by type of bisphosphonate, either in the overall analysis or subgroups. BPs are generally well tolerated, with a relatively low risk of serious adverse effects. Treatment for hormone sensitive breast cancer frequently includes treatment with an aromatase inhibitor (AI) or ovarian function suppression (OFS), both of which can accelerate bone loss, decrease bone density, and increase fractures. In addition to decreasing breast cancer events, BPs have been shown to decrease fractures in breast cancer patients receiving AIs or OFS. However, concerns have been raised about the risk of atypical femur fractures (AFF), a rare subtype of fragility fractures, which appear to increase with longer BP use (3-100/100,000 person-years) (Shane 2013). This substudy evaluated all fractures occurring in patients enrolled on S0307. Methods: Patients with stage I-III breast cancer who were receiving adjuvant systemic therapy were randomized to receive 3 years of intravenous zoledronic acid (ZA) 4 mg IV given every 4 weeks for the first six months, and then every 3 months for the following 2.5 years, oral clodronate (CLOD) 1,600 mg/day orally, or oral ibandronate (IBAN) 50 mg/day orally. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS). On-treatment data collection forms specifically queried whether a fracture had occurred during the reporting period, the site of the fracture, and whether or not it was associated with trauma. Results: A total of 6,097 patients were randomized to S0307, with a median age of 53 years. Rates for overall fractures at 7.7 years were higher for CLOD (9.3%) compared to IBAN (7.4%) and ZA (7.1%) (p=0.02), with differences being mostly in the spine. Traumatic fracture differences were not significant (CLOD 2.0%, ZA 1.9%, IBAN 1.7%; p=0.83). Fragility fracture rates were 5.2% with ZA, 7.2% with CLOD, and 5.6% with IBAN. Ankle fractures were the most common fracture site at 2.8% overall. Leg fractures, including femur fractures, were relatively low with a rate of 1.5% overall and not different between agents. AFF were not specifically queried/determined. Conclusion: In S0307, BPs were used in higher doses than is recommended for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. There is limited data comparing the long-term effects across BP drugs used at these higher doses on the skeleton. In S0307, an overall fracture rate of 8% was seen in early stage breast cancer patients despite receiving BPs along with conventional systemic therapy. Fracture rates were slightly higher for CLOD than ZA and IBAN for fragility and overall fractures, but similar for traumatic fractures. This may reflect the potency of CLOD or the dosing schedule. Rates of femur fractures were relatively low in all arms without evidence of excess femur fractures. Funding: NIH/NCI CA180888, CA180819, CA180820, CA180821, CA180868, CA180863, CA196175; BCRF, Komen, Berlex (Bayer), Roche/Genentech, Novartis. Citation Format: Rachel L (MD) Yung, Jieling Miao, Alexander HG Paterson, Mark Clemons, Elizabeth C Dees, James N Ingle, Carla I Falkson, William Barlow, Gabriel N Hortobagyi, Julie R Gralow. Fractures in women with breast cancer receiving high-dose bisphosphonates to prevent breast cancer metastases as part of the SWOG S0307 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00127205) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-18-02.

e13516 Background: Breast cancer affects thousands of women each year. Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been associated with increased metastatic potential of cancer cells as well as resistance to chemotherapy. Predicatively, presence of EMT leads to worse prognosis. We have recently showed that Aurora-A plays a key role in development of EMT and increased ability of breast cancer cells for self renewal. Therefore we hypothesized that inhibition of Aurora-A will lead to increased sensitivity to chemotherapy. Methods: The hypothesis was tested in vitro. Cellular proliferation was tested using MTT assay and protein levels were determined on Western blots. Results: In ER+ cell line, MCF7, constitutive activation of Raf-1/MAPK signaling pathway leads to aberrant activation of Aurora-A kinase activity. These cells have decreased sensitivity to treatment with paclitaxel when compared to parental MCF7 cells. This effect is even more pronounced with over-expression of Aurora-A. The sensitivity to paclitaxel was restored with inhibition of Aurora-A by novel inhibitor, Alisertib. This was further explored in triple negative cells (MDA-MB-231) and cells expressing Her-2/neu (BT474) which express higher levels of Aurora-A. Combination of Alisertib and paclitaxel was superior when compared to either therapy alone. Similar effect was seen with use of anthracyclines. Inhibition of Aurora-A resulted in decreased SMAD5 expression as well as decreased Akt phosphorylation. Current studies are investigating a role of Aurora-A in developing chemoresistance through activating SMAD5. In vivo experiments evaluating combination therapies in breast cancer animal model are ongoing. Conclusions: Inhibition of Aurora-A by Alisertib resulted in decreased SMAD5 nuclear phosphorylation and increased effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents in breast cancer cells. These results contribute to better understanding of signaling pathways involved in resistance of breast cancer cells to chemotherapy. This knowledge could be extremely useful in developing more effective treatments for breast cancer patients both in neo-adjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic settings.

1032 Background: Obesity is a predictor of poor outcomes in women with early-stage breast cancer (BC). Some reports suggest that obesity is associated with aggressive tumor histology. We examined the relationship between BMI at diagnosis and PAM50 subtype, and explored the interaction between BMI and subtype on prognosis in early BC. Methods: CALGB 9741 evaluated dose-density and sequence in node-positive BC. All patients received doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and paclitaxel dosed by actual body weight without cap or dose adjustment. The primary endpoint was RFS. Height and weight at diagnosis were abstracted from patient records; the PAM50 assay was performed using the Nanostring platform. Association between PAM50 and BMI was assessed by a chi-squared test. The prognostic value of BMI conditional on PAM50 was tested as a continuous variable using Cox models for RFS adjusted for number of involved nodes, tumor size, menopausal status, drug sequence, and dose density. Results: Baseline height and weight were available for 1909 of 2005 enrolled patients; 1272 also had subtype determination by PAM50. Distribution of subtypes differed significantly by BMI (p=0.03), with all weight groups having similar proportions of Basal and HER-2 Enriched subtypes and with obese patients having lower rates of Luminal A (30 vs 35%) and higher rates of Luminal B (39 vs 26%) tumors as compared to normal-weight individuals. In multivariate analyses, BMI and subtype were independent predictors of RFS (p=0.011 and p<0.001, respectively). Exploratory analyses did not show a significant interaction between subtype and the relationship between increased BMI and RFS (p=0.15), although largest differences were seen among Luminal cancers (Table). Conclusions: Biologic subtypes were distributed differently in obese and non-obese individuals. The association between BMI and RFS did not differ significantly by subtype in this study. More work is needed to further explore the interaction of BMI and subtype, especially in a larger cohort of Luminal tumors. [Table: see text]

10586 Background: Teschendorff et al. (Breast Cancer Res 2008) reported a 7-gene, immune response-enriched gene expression classifier using microarrays that was prognostic in women with ER-negative breast cancer. To facilitate further evaluation of the prognostic value of a classifier in archival fixed tumor tissue, we developed two multiplex TaqMan assays to quantify the expression levels of these genes, then trained and validated a 7-gene immune response score (IRS). Methods: RNA was extracted from FFPE sections of 185 ER-negative breast cancer patient samples from Mayo Clinic (n=81), Guy’s Hospital (n=50) and California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) (n=27). Patients (N+ and N-) did not receive adjuvant therapy and were followed for a minimum of 5 years. Amplification of i) LY9, TNFRSF17, HLA-F, and IGLC2 and ii) XCL2, SPP1, C1QA and two reference genes NUP214 and PPIG were carried out in two multiplex RT-PCR TaqMan reactions and relative expression levels were determined using the DDCT method. The training set, comprised of the Mayo Clinic samples, was used to develop an IRS by using a summation of expression levels of the 7 genes. Association of the IRS with distant metastasis was assessed using a Cox proportional hazards model. The score was subsequently tested in a validation set (Guy’s + CPMC). Results: The amplification efficiency of each gene within the multiplex reactions was comparable to singleplex reactions. Duplicate amplifications showed excellent assay reproducibility and sensitivity (R2=0.98). The hazard ratio for a single standard deviation decrease in the IRS was 1.45 (95% CI 0.99-2.12, p=0.056) in the training set and 2.18 (1.32-3.61, p=0.002) in the validation set. ROC curves of continuous IRS to predict distant metastasis within 5 years had AUC of 0.74, 95% CI = 0.60-0.88. Conclusions: Robust multiplex TaqMan assays for FFPE tissue extracted RNA were developed for a 7-gene IRS. Increases in risk are associated with decreases in the IRS. Immune related gene expression clearly plays an important role in the spectrum of risk of ER-negative tumors. Additional signatures are in development that further support this conclusion.

e13501 Background: Loss of estrogen receptor alpha gene expression has been associated with insensitivity to endocrine therapy in human breast cancer patients. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have recently been found to restore sensitivity to the estrogen receptor by modulation of the estrogen and progesterone receptors. This had been shown with both aromatase and tamoxifen refractory and in triple negative cell lines . We performed a Phase I study of the combination of LBH589 (panobinostat) and letrozole to evaluate safety and tolerability in patients with metastatic breast cancer prior to the performance of a phase II trial. Methods: We enrolled postmenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer, ECOG PS 0 or 1, ANC>1500/mm3, platelets>100,000/mm3, normal total bilirubin, and ALT/AST adequate laboratory tests were eligible. Letrozole dose was 2.5 mg/day orally. Dose of LBH589: Level 1, 20 mg orally three times weekly; Level 2, 30 mg orally three times a week. Results: 12 patients (dose level 1:6 patients, dose level 2: 6 patients) have been enrolled. 43 cycles of treatment have been given to these12 patients. Initial cohort of 3 patients at the 20 mg dose level had no dose limiting toxicity (DLT). At the 30 mg dose level 3/6 patients had DLT (thrombocytopenia grade 1: 2 pts; grade 3:1 pt; grade 4: 1 pt; and diarrhea grade 3: 1 pt. One pt at the 30 mg dose level has a confirmed partial response and remains on study after 6 cycles of treatment. Subsequent cohort of 3 patients had 1 dose DLT with doubling of the creatinine. The main DLT was thrombocytopenia in 3/6 pts at the 30 mg dose level. Conclusions: The recommended dose for phase II testing of LBH589 is 20 mg orally 3 times per week in combination with standard dose letrozole.

1006 Background: Patients (pts) with ER-/PR- MBC do not benefit from endocrine treatment (tx). Doane et al (Oncogene 2006;25:3994) described a subset of ER-/PR- BC with a gene expression profile similar to ER+ BC but characterized by AR expression and AR-dependent growth in vitro. Hence, we conducted a multicenter phase II trial (NCT00468715) of the AR antagonist, bicalutamide (B) for pts with AR+ ER-/PR- MBC. Methods: Pts with ER-/PR- (IHC <10%) MBC were consented to AR testing, confirmed centrally at MSKCC. If AR+ (DAKO IHC ≥10%), pts were eligible for tx if ECOG performance status (PS) <2 and normal organ function. No limit on prior tx except prior trastuzumab required if HER2+. Eligible AR+ pts who consented to tx received B 150mg orally daily in 28-day cycles (C). Toxicity assessed q4wks, response q12wks. Primary endpoint = clinical benefit rate (CBR): CR + PR + stable disease (ds) >6mo (SD). B would be considered worthy of further study if ≥4/28 pts have clinical benefit. Results: As of 12/21/11,436 pts consented for AR testing. 24 were ineligible, 12 await testing. 47/400 tested were AR+ (12%). 26 received tx with B (6 ineligible for tx, 15 are eligible for tx with B at progression (POD) if clinically appropriate and study slots remains). Two AR+ pts treated with B were ER+ and removed from study. Three have received tx <12wks. Treated pt characteristics (n=24): median(med)age 64 (41-83), PS 0 (0-1), HER2+ 1, visceral metastases 17. Prior chemotherapy: neo/adjuvant 16; med # regimens for MBC 1 (0-8). Med C# 3 (2-49+). Best response: (21 evaluable pts): CBR 19% (95% CI 5-42%), SD>6mo 4, CR/PR 0, SD<6mo 3, POD 14. Conclusions: ~12% of ER-/PR- MBC pts are AR+. For these pts, AR-inhibition with B is feasible, well tolerated, and has activity based on pre-specified criteria. This study has closed to accrual for AR testing as of 1/2012. These results of the primary endpoint are not expected to change by accrual of the 2 remaining pts. Supported by TBCRC/Breast Cancer Alliance/AstraZeneca. [Table: see text]