The purpose of this study is to learn what effects digoxin (DIG) may have on human breast cancer tissue.
Breast cancer cells grow in a low oxygen environment called hypoxia. The body normally controls the amount of oxygen in cells with what is known as Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1. HIF-1 helps cancer cells grow in low oxygen environments; therefore, if this function can be blocked, it may make it harder for breast cancer cells to grow. Digoxin is a drug that has been shown to block HIF-1 in lab studies. The investigators want to learn if it blocks HIF-1 in human breast cancer tissue. This will be done by comparing the tumor tissue from the original diagnostic biopsy to tissue that is taken at the time of surgery. The investigators will also be comparing tumor tissue of patients who are not randomized to take digoxin.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
6
Digoxin once daily for 2 weeks prior to definitive breast surgery.
Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Change in HIF-1α Protein Expression
To assess whether two weeks of daily oral digoxin therapy, as compared to no study drug, reduces the expression of Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α protein, measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC), in surgically resected breast cancer tissue obtained from women undergoing lumpectomy or mastectomy for invasive breast cancer.
Time frame: Baseline (biopsy prior to surgery) and at the end of 2 weeks digoxin treatment
Number of Participants With Adverse Events With Digoxin Treatment
To assess safety and tolerability of two weeks of digoxin therapy in the pre-surgical setting graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), version 4.
Time frame: 2 weeks
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