Letrozole With and Without Simvastatin for the Treatment of Stage I-III Hormone Receptor Positive, HER2 Negative Breast Cancer

NCT ID: NCT05464810

Last Updated: 2025-05-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: EARLY_PHASE1
• Total Enrollment: 40 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-09-02
• Study Completion Date: 2027-04-15

Brief Summary

This early phase I trial tests whether letrozole with simvastatin works better than letrozole alone to stop tumor cell proliferation in patients with stage I-III hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative invasive breast cancer. Letrozole and simvastatin may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. The addition of simvastatin to letrozole may be more effective at stopping the growth of cancer cells than letrozole alone.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine if the addition of simvastatin to letrozole compared to letrozole alone will result in a decrease of Ki67, a biomarker of tumor proliferation, in postmenopausal women with stage I-III, hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer following 14 days of pre-surgical therapy.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine if the addition of simvastatin to letrozole compared to letrozole alone will result in increased immune activation from pre- to post-treatment, based on the evaluation of the immune subtype composition in the tissue via multiplex immunofluorescence.

II. To determine if changes (from pre- to post-treatment) in immune activation correlate with changes in antiproliferative response, based on Ki-67 (from pre- to post-treatment).

III. To identify an association between response defined per percent change in Ki-67 and the percentage of tissue immune biomarkers CD8 and FOXp3.

IV. To determine if the addition of simvastatin to letrozole compared to letrozole alone will result in increased pain based on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) from pre- to post-treatment.

V. To describe the safety and tolerability of letrozole +/- simvastatin in the pre-surgical setting.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. In both arms of the trial, assess the levels of blood-based biomarkers (CRP, IL-6, IL-10, TGF-beta, and TNF-alpha) in pre- and post-treatment blood samples.

Ia. Determine if changes (from pre- to post-treatment) in the levels of these blood-based biomarkers correlate with changes in antiproliferative response, based on Ki67 (from pre- to post-treatment).

Ib. Determine if changes (from pre- to post-treatment) in the levels of these blood-based biomarkers correlate with changes in immune activation, based on the evaluation of the immune subtype composition in the tissue via multiplex immunofluorescence (from pre- to post-treatment).

II. In both arms of the trial, assess fasting total cholesterol levels in pre- and post-treatment blood samples to determine if there is a correlation with changes in antiproliferative response, based on Ki67 (from pre- to post-treatment).

III. In both arms of the trial, assess HMG-CoA Reductase immunohistochemistry (IHC) expression in pre- and post-treatment tumor tissue to determine if there is a correlation with changes in antiproliferative response, based on Ki67 (from pre- to post-treatment).

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive letrozole orally (PO) once daily (QD) and simvastatin PO QD for 14 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

ARM II: Patients receive letrozole PO QD for 14 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed for 30 days.

Conditions

Anatomic Stage I Breast Cancer AJCC v8; Anatomic Stage II Breast Cancer AJCC v8; Anatomic Stage III Breast Cancer AJCC v8; HER2-Negative Breast Carcinoma; Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Carcinoma; Invasive Breast Carcinoma

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Arm I (letrozole, simvastatin)

Patients receive letrozole PO QD and simvastatin PO QD for 14 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Letrozole

Intervention Type: DRUG

Given PO

Simvastatin

Intervention Type: DRUG

Given PO

Arm II (letrozole)

Patients receive letrozole PO QD for 14 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Letrozole

Intervention Type: DRUG

Given PO

Interventions

Letrozole

Given PO

Intervention Type: DRUG

Simvastatin

Given PO

Intervention Type: DRUG

Other Intervention Names

CGS 20267; Femara; MK 733; Synvinolin; Zocor

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age >= 18 years
• Biopsy proven hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative stage I-III invasive breast cancer

• Estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR) positivity are defined as >= 10% of cells expressing hormonal receptors via IHC analysis
• HER2 negativity is defined as either of the following by local laboratory assessment

• IHC 0, 1+, or 2+ and in situ hybridization (ISH) non-amplified (ratio of HER2 to CEP17 < 2.0 or single probe average HER2 gene copy number < 4 signals/cell)
• Minimum primary tumor size 5 mm on any breast imaging (mammogram, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI])
• Baseline Ki-67 IHC expression on tumor tissue >= 10%
• Post-menopausal women

• Prior bilateral oophorectomy
• Age >= 55 years
• Age < 55 and amenorrheic for 12 months or more in the absence of chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, or ovarian suppression and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and estradiol in the postmenopausal range
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2
• Prior treatment:

• No systemic therapy (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, endocrine therapy, and/or investigational therapy) within 3 months of trial enrollment
• No statins, fibrates, or ezetimibe within 3 months of trial enrollment
• No active liver disease
• Hemoglobin >= 9.0 g/dl (Note: the use of transfusion or other intervention to achieve hemoglobin [Hgb] >= 9.0 g/dl is acceptable) (within 14 days prior to initiation of study treatment)
• Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1,500/mcL (after at least 7 days without growth factor support or transfusion) (within 14 days prior to initiation of study treatment)
• Platelets >= 100,000/mcL (within 14 days prior to initiation of study treatment)
• Total bilirubin =< 2 institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) (within 14 days prior to initiation of study treatment)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =< 3 institutional ULN (within 14 days prior to initiation of study treatment)
• Serum creatinine =< 2 mg/dL (or glomerular filtration rate >= 40 mL/min) (within 14 days prior to initiation of study treatment)
• Willingness and ability of the subject to comply with scheduled visits, drug administration plan, protocol-specified laboratory tests, other study procedures, and study restrictions
• Be willing and able to provide written informed consent for the trial

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents or an investigational device within 3 months before administration of first dose of study drugs
• History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to simvastatin and/or letrozole
• Concomitant use of strong CYP3A4 inhibitors (i.e. clarithromycin, erythromycin, itraconazole, ketroconazole, nefazodone, Posaconazole, voriconazole, protease inhibitors [including boceprevir and telaprevir], telithromycin, cobicistat-containing products), cyclosporine, danazol, and gemfibrozil
• Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, substance abuse disorders, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
• Significant cardiovascular disease (e.g., myocardial infarction, arterial thromboembolism, cerebrovascular thromboembolism) within 3 months prior to start of study therapy; angina requiring therapy; symptomatic peripheral vascular disease; New York Heart Association class 3 or 4 congestive heart failure; or uncontrolled grade >= 3 hypertension (diastolic blood pressure >= 100 mmHg or systolic blood pressure >= 160 mmHg) despite antihypertensive therapy
• Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy

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

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Emory University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Ruth Sacks

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Ruth L. Sacks, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute

Locations

Grady Healthcare System

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Emory University Hospital Midtown

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Ruth L. Sacks, MD

Role: CONTACT

ruth.lauren.sacks@emory.edu

404-778-1345

Facility Contacts

Obi Ezennia

Role: primary

obichukwu.ezennia@emory.edu

Carlos E. Aguilera

Role: primary

carlos.e.aguilera.zenteno@emory.edu

404-778-4982

Ashley Trumbull

Role: primary

ashley.lynn.trumbull@emory.edu

404-778-3969

Jody Ewing

Role: primary

jody.ewing@emory.edu

678-843-7029

Other Identifiers

NCI-2022-02545

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

STUDY00004257

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

WINSHIP5524-22

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

P30CA138292

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

STUDY00004257

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id