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.
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
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
Parallel
Letrozole
DrugGiven PO
Simvastatin
DrugGiven PO
Mean percentage change in Ki-67
Negative change denotes reduction. Ki-67 is a validated surrogate marker for disease-free survival in patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+), HER2- breast cancer. Ki-67 values at 14 days are expressed as geometric mean proportions of the baseline and transformed into percentage change. Geometric mean percentage change of Ki-67 from pre- to post-treatment is calculated and compared between the two treatment arms. A two-sided Mann-Whitney U or Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test is used.
Response per Ki-67
Responders are defined as those with \>= 40% pre- to post-treatment decrease in Ki-67, and non-responders are those with \< 40% decrease in Ki-67. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, min, max) are applied to biomarkers of interest at 2 designated time points, prior to preoperative therapy (utilizing archival tissue from baseline biopsy) and following completion of 14 days of preoperative therapy. Absolute change or percentage change of biomarkers is calculated and compared between the two treatment arms using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation among biomarkers is described by Pearson correlation coefficient with 95% confidence interval. The p-value is adjusted by Benjamini-Hochberg procedure to control the false discovery rate.
Change in the level of the following immune biomarkers: Percentage of CD8+ T cells, percentage of FOXp3 Treg cells, ratio of CD8+/Treg ratio
Based on multiplex immunofluorescence. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, min, max) are applied to biomarkers of interest at 2 designated time points, prior to preoperative therapy (utilizing archival tissue from baseline biopsy) and following completion of 14 days of preoperative therapy. Absolute change or percentage change of biomarkers is calculated and compared between the two treatment arms using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation among biomarkers is described by Pearson correlation coefficient with 95% confidence interval. The p-value is adjusted by Benjamini-Hochberg procedure to control the false discovery rate.
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) for pain
Incidence of adverse events
Evaluated per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version (v) 5 criteria. Adverse events are summarized descriptively using frequencies and percentages of all captured toxicities and grades using CTCAE v.5 criteria.
Changes in the level of immune activation in the blood using blood-based biomarkers (CRP, IL-6, IL-10, TGF-beta, TNF-alpha)
Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, min, max) are applied to biomarkers of interest at 2 designated time points, prior to preoperative therapy and following completion of 14 days of preoperative therapy. Absolute change or percentage change of biomarkers is calculated and compared between the two treatment arms using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation among biomarkers is described by Pearson correlation coefficient with 95% confidence interval. The p-value is adjusted by Benjamini-Hochberg procedure to control the false discovery rate.
Changes in total cholesterol levels in the blood
Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, min, max) are applied to biomarkers of interest at 2 designated time points, prior to preoperative therapy and following completion of 14 days of preoperative therapy. Absolute change or percentage change of biomarkers is calculated and compared between the two treatment arms using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation among biomarkers is described by Pearson correlation coefficient with 95% confidence interval. The p-value is adjusted by Benjamini-Hochberg procedure to control the false discovery rate.
Changes in HMG-CoA reductase immunohistochemistry (IHC) expression in the tumor tissue
Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, min, max) are applied to biomarkers of interest at 2 designated time points, prior to preoperative therapy (utilizing archival tissue from baseline biopsy) and following completion of 14 days of preoperative therapy. Absolute change or percentage change of biomarkers is calculated and compared between the two treatment arms using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation among biomarkers is described by Pearson correlation coefficient with 95% confidence interval. The p-value is adjusted by Benjamini-Hochberg procedure to control the false discovery rate.
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Emory University
Lead sponsor
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Collaborator
