Study to Compare Alisertib With Paclitaxel vs. Paclitaxel Alone in Metastatic or Locally Recurrent Breast Cancer
brief summary
The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if the study drug, alisertib (MLN8237), in combination with chemotherapy (paclitaxel), can shrink or slow tumor growth in women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative or HR-negative, HER2-negative (triple negative) locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The safety of alisertib in combination with paclitaxel will also be studied. The physical state of the patient, symptoms, changes in the size of the tumor, and laboratory findings obtained while on-study will help the research team decide if alisertib plus paclitaxel is safe and effective in patients with this type of breast cancer. Alisertib belongs to a group of drugs called Aurora kinase inhibitors. Alisertib blocks the activity of Aurora A kinase, a protein that is involved in tumor cell multiplication and survival. Aurora A kinase is expressed at higher than normal levels in many types of cancer, including breast cancer, and preclinical studies suggest that blocking the activity of this protein can lead to the death of cancer cells. Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat many different kinds of cancer, including metastatic breast cancer. The reason to combine alisertib and paclitaxel is that in cancer therapy, combinations of drugs are often more effective as a treatment than either of the same drugs used alone.
detailed description
The rationale behind assessing the effectiveness of the addition of alisertib to weekly paclitaxel therapy in patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer and highly proliferative estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) and HER2- breast cancer is based on the unmet clinical need for effective strategies to prevent or delay resistance to taxane therapy in the metastatic setting. Synergistic or additive effects have been observed in breast cancer xenograft models which involved alisertib added to either paclitaxel or docetaxel. Alisertib inhibited the Pgp-mediated efflux of paclitaxel in a cell culture model. In addition, Aurora Kinase A is frequently overexpressed in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), and expression levels have been shown to be prognostic in both of these breast cancer subtypes. The combination of alisertib with paclitaxel has also been investigated in a Phase 1 study in patients with locally advanced or metastatic ovarian and breast cancers, with preliminary evidence of activity in both tumor types including 6 partial response (PR)s and 3 stable disease (SD) in 11 patients with metastatic breast cancer.
official title
A Phase II, Multicenter, Randomized, Parallel Group Study to Compare Alisertib in Combination With Paclitaxel vs. Paclitaxel Alone in Patients With Metastatic or Locally Recurrent Breast Cancer