Comparing Trastuzumab with Pertuzumab for breast cancer
Official title: Safety of Continuing HER-2 Directed Therapy in Overt Left Ventricular Dysfunction
Safety of Continuing HER-2 Directed Therapy in Overt Left Ventricular Dysfunction: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Interventions
Trastuzumab
Trastuzumab is a HER-2 targeting monoclonal antibody that improves overall survival and reduces the risk of recurrent disease in early stage HER-2 positive breast cancer.
Pertuzumab
Pertuzumab (also called 2C4, trade name Perjeta) is a monoclonal antibody used in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel for the treatment of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer; it also used in the same combination as a neoadjuvant in early HER2-positive breast cancer
Trastuzumab emtansine
Ado-trastuzumab emtansine is approved to treat: Breast cancer that is HER2 positive and has already been treated with a taxane and trastuzumab.
Canadian Sites (3)
Juravnski Cancer Centre
Hamitlon, Ontario, Canada
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Eligibility Criteria
See who this study is looking for10 criteria
The trial’s own eligibility text, word for word from the registry. Only the trial site can say who takes part.
Inclusion
- +Stage I-III HER-2 positive breast cancer
- +Receiving adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1)
- +Evidence of left ventricular dysfunction, as defined by at least one of:
- +a) LVEF \< 54% or b) LVEF ≥54% and either i) fall in LVEF of ≥15% from prior to trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1) exposure, or ii) New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II heart failure symptoms within the past 6 months
Exclusion
- −Current use of both angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) /angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and beta-blocker
- −Contra-indication to both ACE-I/ARB and beta-blockers
- −NYHA class III or IV heart failure
- −LVEF \<40%
- −Systolic blood pressure \<100mmHg
- −Current or planned pregnancy or breastfeeding
In plain language
Assembled directly from this trial’s registry record. Every sentence traces to a field below — nothing here is generated or interpreted.
What this study is
This study is testing a treatment for a condition.
Phase 2Phase 2A middle-stage study looking at what a treatment does and watching for side effects.Read more → — a middle-stage study in a few hundred people at most, looking at what the treatment does and watching for side effectsSide effectAn unwanted effect thought to be caused by the treatment itself.Read more →.
What is being given or done in this study: Trastuzumab, Pertuzumab, Trastuzumab emtansine.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.primaryPurpose
- designModule.phases
- armsInterventionsModule.interventions[].name
How the study is run
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
You, the study team, the people giving the treatment, and the people analysing the results would all be kept unaware of which group you are in until the study ends.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment, so the two can be compared.
There are 2 groups in this study.
From the trial registry
Built from this field:
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Who the study is looking for
The study is open to people of any sex.
The study does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
These are the criteria the study lists. Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How big and how long
The study aims to enrol about 130 people.
The study is currently expected to finish around June 2026.
The main measurement is taken over: one year.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
What the study measures
primary efficacy outcome — measured over one year.
co-primary safety outcomes — measured over one year.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].measure
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
Source: NCT04680442 on ClinicalTrials.gov. The full registry text is further down this page — this summary never replaces it.
Not medical advice. What do these terms mean?
What is being tested — in plain terms
About TrastuzumabDrug
Trastuzumab is a HER-2 targeting monoclonal antibody that improves overall survival and reduces the risk of recurrent disease in early stage HER-2 positive breast cancer.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a drug is here: A medicine — a chemical or small-molecule treatment — given as the thing being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
About PertuzumabDrug
Pertuzumab (also called 2C4, trade name Perjeta) is a monoclonal antibody used in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel for the treatment of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer; it also used in the same combination as a neoadjuvant in early HER2-positive breast cancer
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a drug is here: A medicine — a chemical or small-molecule treatment — given as the thing being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
About Trastuzumab emtansineDrug
Ado-trastuzumab emtansine is approved to treat: Breast cancer that is HER2 positive and has already been treated with a taxane and trastuzumab.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a drug is here: A medicine — a chemical or small-molecule treatment — given as the thing being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
Common questions
Answered from this trial’s registry record. Where the record doesn’t say, these answers say so rather than filling the gap.
Am I eligible for this trial?
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part. Concord cannot make that determination, and neither can any tool that has not examined you.
The full inclusionInclusion criteriaThe things you must have or be for a study to consider you.Read more → and exclusion criteriaExclusion criteriaThe things that would prevent someone from taking part.Read more → are published on this page, exactly as the study team wrote them.
The useful next step is to bring this trial to your doctor. Answering a few questions first gives them something concrete to review.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.eligibilityCriteria
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment so the two can be compared.
From the trial registry
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Would I know which treatment I am getting?
You, the study team, the people giving the treatment, and the people analysing the results would all be kept unaware of which group you are in until the study ends.
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
From the trial registry
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
Who can join?
It is open to people of any sex.
It does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can confirm whether a particular person can take part.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How long would this take?
The study's main measurement is taken over: one year.
The study as a whole is currently expected to finish around 2026-06-30.
How long any one person takes part can differ from the study length. The study team can tell you what the schedule looks like in practice.
From the trial registry
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
How many people are taking part?
The study aims to enrol about 130 people.
From the trial registry
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
Where is this happening?
This study lists 3 locations, including: Hamitlon, Ontario, Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sites can open and close during a study, so confirm with the team before travelling.
From the trial registry
- trial_locations
About This Trial
Trastuzumab is an important treatment for HER 2 positive breast cancer. But trastuzumab can cause injury to the heart, and this is one of the main reasons it cannot be administered as planned. Heart injury can often be successfully treated using cardiac medications. The objectives of SCHOLAR-2 are to evaluate whether is it safe and effective to continue trastuzumab, pertuzumab or trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1) in patients with early stage HER-2 positive breast cancer despite mild, minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic systolic left ventricular dysfunction as compared with a guideline-driven approach of withholding or discontinuing trastuzumab, pertuzumab or trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1). In SCHOLAR-2, we will compare two thresholds of withholding or discontinuing trastuzumab/pertuzumab/trastuzumab-emtansine: a threshold that is currently advocated for by existing treatment practice guidelines versus a more aggressive threshold that allows trastuzumab/pertuzumab/trastuzumab-emtansine to continue at lower levels of LVEF than currently supported by guideline documents.
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See if this trial could fit youThis page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Clinical trial eligibility can only be determined by the trial site after proper screening. Trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the most current status. Always consult your healthcare provider before making decisions about clinical trial participation.