Combination of letrozole, metronomic cyclophosphamide and sorafenib is well-tolerated and shows activity in patients with primary breast cancer

Purpose: To assess whether the combination of letrozole, metronomic cyclophosphamide and sorafenib (LCS) is well tolerated and shows activity in primary breast cancer (BC). Methods: Thirteen oestrogen receptor-positive, postmenopausal, T2-4, N0-1 BC patients received the LCS combination for 6 months. In these patients we examined the pharmacokinetics of sorafenib and cyclophosphamide, toxicity of the regimen, the clinical response to therapy and changes in the levels of biologically relevant biomarkers. Results: Adequate plasma concentrations of sorafenib were achieved in patients when it was dosed in combination with L+C. The mean plasma concentrations of C were consistently lower following administration of LCS, compared with administration of L+C only. The most common drug-related grade 3/4 adverse events were skin rash (69.3%), hand-foot skin reaction (69.3%) and diarrhoea (46.1%). According to RECIST Criteria, a clinical complete response was observed in 6 of 13 patients. A significant reduction in tumour size, evaluated with MRI, was also observed between baseline and 14 days of treatment in all 13 patients ( P =0.005). A significant reduction in SUV uptake, measured by 18 FDG-PET/CT, was observed in all patients between baseline and 30 days of treatment ( P =0.015) and between baseline and definitive surgery ( P =0.0002). Using modified CT Criteria, a response was demonstrated in 8 out of 10 evaluable patients at 30 days and in 11 out of 13 evaluable patients at the definitive surgery. A significant reduction in Ki67 expression was observed in all patients at day 14 compared with baseline ( P <0.00001) and in 9 out of 13 patients at the definitive surgery compared with baseline ( P <0.03). There was also a significant suppression of CD31 and VEGF-A expression in response to treatment ( P =0.01 and P =0.007, respectively). Conclusions: The LCS combination is feasible and tolerable. The tumour response and target biomarker modulation indicate that the combination is clinically and biologically active.