The study will investigate the effect of niraparib on tumor tissue in chemotherapy naïve, newly diagnosed, high-grade endometrial cancer patients. Biomarkers of cognate molecular pathways as well as investigational assays will be used to study the antineoplastic effect of the drug.
Niraparib is a FDA approved Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) for the treatment of platinum-sensitive ovarian serous carcinoma. The safety profile of niraparib was established in phase III clinical trials. The therapeutic effect of niraparib on serous endometrial carcinoma is now being investigated in several clinical trials. However, the antineoplastic effect and the safety profile of niraparib in chemotherapy naïve high-grade endometrial cancer patients is unknown. By employing a phase 0 exploratory trial design, the investigators will study the niraparib's effect on endometrial cancer in chemotherapy naïve patients using molecular biomarkers as sentinels for the antineoplastic effect. Women diagnosed by endometrial biopsy with high-grade endometrial cancer will receive niraparib for 28 days. Staging surgery will be performed 4-6 weeks after the diagnosis (standard of care). The investigators will use the pre-operative biopsy and the surgical specimen to perform comparative multidimensional analysis of endometrial tumors before and after exposure to niraparib.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Low dose oral niraparib capsules (2 x 100 mg) once a day for 28 days
Tumor cells proliferation before and after the treatment
Cancer cell proliferation will be quantitatively assessed using immunohistochemical staining for cell-cycle proteins. Ki-67 (MIB) stains nuclei of cells in G1-S-G2 phases of the cell-cycle. The proliferation index will be calculated as percent of tumor positive cells. The primary outcome fold change in proliferation index after exposure to niraparib. The quantification will be done by image analysis software with pathologist supervision.
Time frame: Day 30 (day of surgery)
Cell cycle arrest
The levels of different cell-cycle related proteins increase and decrease throughout the cell cycle, each having its own expression pattern. Tumor specimens will be stained for Cyclin D1, Geminin and p21 proteins. The proportion of positive nuclei of each marker after exposure to niraparib will be estimated. The results will be integrated to study the effect of niraparib on endometrial cancer cells proliferation.
Time frame: Day 30 (day of surgery)
Apoptosis marker
Cleaved caspase-3 (cCas-3) marks cells that activated the programmed cell-death process. cCas-3 positive tumor cells will be compared before and after the exposure to niraparib.
Time frame: Day 30 (day of surgery)
Endometrial thickness
Comparison of the thickness of endometrial lining before and after treatment
Time frame: Day 1 and Day 28
CA-125 cancer tumor marker
Investigation of the effect of preoperative niraparib on CA125 levels in patients with high grade endometrial carcinoma
Time frame: Day 1 and Day 28
Adverse effects of Niraparib
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Assessment of adverse effects of niraparib in chemotherapy naïve patients according to CTCAE 5.0
Time frame: every week from day 1 and 21 days after the surgery
Patient Reported Outcomes - General Oncology
Patients' well being will be assessed by a validated questionnaire: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G). https://www.facit.org
Time frame: Day 1 and Day 28
Patient Reported Outcomes - Endometrial Cancer
Patients' well being will be assessed by a validated questionnaire: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Endometrial (FACT-en). https://www.facit.org
Time frame: Day 1 and Day 28