This is a Phase II investigator-Initiated trial of the Investigational Drug, Ruxolitinib, in combination with Exemestane in patients with estrogen-receptor positive advanced breast cancer. The objective of this study is to determine the preliminary safety and efficacy of the combination of exemestane and Ruxolitinib (INCB018424).
In vitro mechanisms link IL-6 to poor outcome in breast cancer via activated JAK/STAT tumor signaling, leading to an aggressive tumor phenotype, and our preliminary data support these mechanisms in women with ER+ disease. Our overarching hypotheses are that (1) IL-6 mediates upregulation of JAK/STAT signaling pathways that leads to poor prognosis in women with ER-positive disease, (2) blockade of JAK/STAT signaling, via JAK inhibition, in patients with activating IL-6 polymorphisms and/or upregulation of STAT3 tumor signaling will enhance the response to endocrine therapy, and (3) patients likely to respond to JAK inhibition can be identified by germline genotyping for IL-6 variants, and effectiveness of the targeted therapy will be measurable through tumor assessment of activated STAT signaling through upregulation of phospho- STAT3 and expression of STAT3 target genes. We now propose a trial to determine whether addition of the JAK inhibitor, Ruxolitinib (INCB018424), enhances the activity of exemestane alone in women with ER-positive breast cancer who have relapsed after non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor and carry a germline polymorphism in IL-6, and to determine if tumor activation of STAT3 can identify patients most likely to respond to the combination.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
25
Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Number of Participants With Adverse Events
Safety will be assessed by evaluation of the number and severity adverse events as defined by the NCI CTCAE Version 4.0
Time frame: 3 years
Time to Progression
Per Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST v1.0) for target lesions and assessed by CT or MRI: Complete Response (CR), Disappearance of all target lesions; Partial Response (PR), \>=30% decrease in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions; Overall Response (OR) = CR + PR.
Time frame: 3 years
Pharmacodynamic Assessment of Phospho-STAT3 Inhibition
Time frame: 3 years
Inflammatory Markers
Time frame: 3 years
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