Refining Local-Regional Therapy for IBC

NCT ID: NCT04636710

Last Updated: 2025-12-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 50 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-06-02
• Study Completion Date: 2028-12-01

Brief Summary

This Feasibility study is trying to determine:

• If Lymphoscintigraphy (imaging of the lymphatic drainage patterns) is effective in demonstrating the drainage to the sentinel lymph nodes in patients with inflammatory breast cancer.
• The likelihood of identifying the sentinel lymph nodes in the operating room, using both blue dye and the radioactive substance used for lymphoscintigraphy.
• The incidence of lymphedema (arm swelling which occurs after lymph node surgery) in women with inflammatory breast cancer
• Outcomes for women with inflammatory breast cancer, whether or not the sentinel lymph nodes can be identified.

Detailed Description

This research study is a Feasibility Study, which means the investigators are collecting information from a relatively small group of patients to determine if the sentinel lymph node procedure identifies the first nodes that drain the breast in patients with inflammatory breast cancer.

The sentinel node procedure is a standard method to evaluate whether breast cancer has spread to the axillary lymph nodes (lymph nodes under the arm) or remains in the lymph nodes under the arm after chemotherapy in non-inflammatory breast cancer. "Standard" means that sentinel lymph node biopsy is accepted by the majority of the medical community as a suitable method to determine if breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or remains in the lymph nodes after chemotherapy. In women with non-inflammatory breast cancer, these lymph nodes are tested first and if they are free of cancer additional lymph nodes are not removed. By safely limiting the amount of lymph node surgery to only the sentinel lymph nodes, the likelihood of developing lymphedema (arm swelling after lymph node surgery) has declined among women with non-inflammatory breast cancer.

Currently, sentinel lymph node biopsy is not performed in inflammatory breast cancer as there are little data supporting that it works or is accurate. For inflammatory breast cancer, performing lymphoscintigraphy (imaging study to show the drainage from the breast to the lymph nodes) and sentinel lymph node biopsy is investigational. "Investigational" means that this is being studied. If in this study it is determined that sentinel lymph nodes can be accurately identified and tested in patients with inflammatory breast cancer, this could lead to future studies testing whether complete lymph node dissection can be avoided in women with inflammatory breast cancer whose sentinel nodes are free of cancer. Thus, potentially also reducing the likelihood of lymphedema in patients who receive treatment for inflammatory breast cancer.

The research study procedures include screening for eligibility, imaging evaluation, lymphoscintigraphy, sentinel lymph node evaluation, a mandatory research biopsy, research blood draws and questionnaires.

It is expected that about 50 people will take part in this research study at participating sites around the United States

Johns Hopkins University on behalf of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) is supporting this research study by providing funding for the research study. The TBCRC is a group of academic medical centers across the United States that work together to conduct breast cancer research.

Conditions

Breast Cancer; Inflammatory Breast Cancer; Sentinel Lymph Node

Keywords

Breast Cancer; Inflammatory Breast Cancer; Sentinel Lymph Node

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: DIAGNOSTIC
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Sentinal Node Identification

Within standard of care treatment for inflammatory breast cancer, participants will undergo a series of Lymphoscintigraphies: an imaging procedure to determine where their lymphatic system drains from their breast.

• Prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy
• Day before surgery

These two imaging studies will be compared and the information used during participant's surgery to perform the sentinel node biopsy procedure.

During surgery participants will have a blue dye injected to affected breast to map drainage and identify sentinal nodes. The sentinal nodes will be removed first, followed by standard of care procedure to remove all axillary lymph nodes.

After surgery, a small amount of tissue from the tumor removed during surgery will be evaluated.

Participants will complete a Lymphedema Questionnaire after each Lymphoscintigraphy then every 6 months for 2 years post surgery.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Lymphoscintigraphy

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

An imaging procedure using an injected radioactive substance or dye to identify lymph drainage A doctor reviews the images to identify the sentinel lymph nodes based on where the dye goes to first.

Interventions

Lymphoscintigraphy

An imaging procedure using an injected radioactive substance or dye to identify lymph drainage A doctor reviews the images to identify the sentinel lymph nodes based on where the dye goes to first.

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Other Intervention Names

Sentinel lymph node mapping

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Stage III IBC (cT4d cN0-2). Inflammatory breast cancer is defined as the following constellation of symptoms (all of the following must be met):

• Rapid onset symptoms (6 months or less from time of diagnosis)
• Breast erythema, edema and/or peau d'orange and/or warm breast with or without an underlying palpable mass
• Erythema occupying at least one-third of the breast
• Pathologic confirmation (biopsy-proven) invasive breast carcinoma
• Women age ≥18 years
• ECOG performance status ≤2
• Ability to understand and willingness to sign informed consent document and comply with study procedures, including baseline research biopsy. If the research biopsy is not felt to be reasonably safe or feasible, a waiver must be obtained from the Principal Investigator. A formal exception would not be required in this case.

Exclusion Criteria

• Participants who initiated pre-operative/neoadjuvant therapy prior to registration are ineligible.
• Participants with Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer are excluded. The absence of any evidence of distant disease on staging studies needs to be confirmed at the time of diagnosis (within 42 days from initial presentation) using the staging studies that are standard for the participating institution.
• Participants with positive contralateral axillary nodes identified on standard imaging studies (MMG, MRI, US) are excluded. In participants with clinically suspicious axillary nodes, US guided biopsy will be performed prior to registration. If the contralateral axillary biopsy is positive, patients will not be eligible. If standard imaging does not identify contralateral disease yet drainage to the contralateral axillary basin is identified on pre-NAC lymphoscintigraphy, contralateral axillary US (if not already performed) will be obtained and any suspicious contralateral axillary nodes will undergo US guided biopsy. If the contralateral axillary biopsy is positive, patients will not continue on study for the evaluation of the primary endpoint, but their data will be used for the descriptive analyses of lymphatic drainage patterns in IBC. Contralateral invasive breast cancer without axillary involvement or in-situ carcinoma in either breast is allowed.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Faina Nakhlis, MD

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Faina Nahklis, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Locations

Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Faina Nahklis, MD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 617-632-3891

Email: fnakhlis1@bwh.harvard.edu

Facility Contacts

Faina Nakhlis, MD

Role: primary

Other Identifiers

20-151

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id