Triple Negative Breast Cancer Targeted in Clinical Trial

The American Cancer Society estimates 183,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year with more than 40,000 dying from the disease. In New Jersey alone 6,300 new cases are expected with 1,400 deaths. It is those statistics on which researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) hope to have impact with a newly opened clinical trial at the facility. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

In advanced breast cancer, combinations of chemotherapy drugs to kill cancer cells result in response rates between 40 and 70 percent; complete response rates or clinical remissions are rare. Although there has been progress in prolonging survival in metastatic breast cancer (breast cancer that spreads to other parts of the body), ultimately the majority of women die from their disease.

Researchers at CINJ are investigating a new combination of chemotherapy drugs targeted at patients who have been diagnosed with previously untreated triple-negative metastatic breast cancer. Triple negative is a type of breast cancer that does not express estrogen or progesterone receptors or HER2 protein. Thus, standard treatments with hormone blocking agents and agents that target HER2 such as tamoxifen and the antibody herceptin, respectively, are ineffective weapons against this subtype of breast cancer. As a result, women with triple negative breast cancer have a shorter survival and identifying better combinations of chemotherapy and novel biologic agents that are effective in this disease is critical.

Deborah Toppmeyer, M.D., director of the LIFE (Ladies Professional Golf Association In the Fight to Eradicate breast cancer) Center at CINJ and associate professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is the lead researcher on a clinical study which will examine how patients respond to treatment with a novel combination of three agents, doxil, carboplatin, and the anti-blood vessel (anti-angiogenic) biologic, bevacizumab.

Extensive laboratory data suggests that the formation of new blood vessels plays an important role in the establishment of distant sites of breast cancer by providing nutrients needed for cell growth to reach a tumor. Bevacizumab has been found to interfere with the production of new blood vessels, thereby interfering with cell growth and survival at distant sites. Doxil and carboplatin have been found to prevent the growth of cancer cells by inhibiting cancer cell reproduction. The study seeks to determine the response of the patient’s tumor to this novel combination and to assess the side effects.

“We at CINJ and our Network of hospitals are committed to understanding the complex heterogeneity of breast cancer so that we can develop more effective and less toxic targeted therapies,” said Dr. Toppmeyer.

Women with the diagnosis of triple-negative metastatic breast cancer which has been previously untreated are eligible to take part in the study, although other criteria must be met. The study is part of the CINJ Oncology Group (CINJOG), which is comprised of physicians throughout New Jersey from the CINJ Network of hospitals. For additional information on how to participate, individuals should call 732-235-7251.