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Phase IIB pre-surgical trial of oral tamoxifen versus transdermal 4-hydroxytamoxifen in women with DCIS of the breast

Biospecimen Report

Blood samples (Screen 1 and Study Visit 1): Blood samples will be collected with an appropriate type of anti-coagulants, and processed.

  1. Two 2.7mL blue top tubes (citrate) to obtain plasma for coagulation panel assays. Each tube must be a full draw. 1mL each will be aliquoted in a 1.8 mL size cryo-vial. We will make as many aliquots as available. The last aliquot may not be enough for 1 mL, but save it as well and record approximate volume available.
  2. Two 10 mL lavender top tubes (K2EDTA) to obtain plasma and buffy coat. We will get approximately 3~ 4 mL plasma from one lavender top tube. 1mL each will be aliquoted in a 1.8 mL size cryo-vial. We will make as many aliquots as available. The last aliquot may not be enough for 1 mL, but save it as well and record approximate volume available. Plasma aliquots will be used for IGF-1 and SHBG assays (Screen 1 and Study Visit 1); for steroid hormone assays (estradiol, progesterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstenedione, and testosterone (Screen 1 and Study Visit 1); and for measuring tamoxifen and its metabolites [tamoxifen, N-desmethyl tamoxifen, (E) 4-OHT, (Z) 4-OHT, (E) endoxifen, and (Z) endoxifen] (Only Study Visit 1). Finally, buffy coat will be collected into one 1.8 mL cryo-vial. A total volume of buffy coat will be approximately 1 mL for future polymorphisms assays in tamoxifen metabolism genes (Screen 1 and Study Visit 1). A minimum of 15 sections will be cut from the core needle biopsy block and the surgical block, 7 for Ki67 and other IHC markers and 8 for DCIS score measurement.

Drug concentration assays (only for study visit 1):

  1. Fresh benign tissue 1x1x1 cm fragments (weight of each fragment is usually 200mg~300mg) from surgical cavity, to avoid interfering with margin assessment on the main specimen. The 1x1x1 cm breast tissue sample will be split in half, and a slice of tissue about 3 mm thick will be taken from one face, and placed in formalin for at least 6 and at most 72 hours, then embedded in paraffin. The remainder of the fresh breast sample will be flash-frozen for drug assay.
  2. An aliquot of plasma from the research blood sample drawn with a 10 mL Lavender top tube (K2EDTA) at the Day of Surgery (study visit 1) will be to obtain plasma for measurement of circulating drug concentrations. Measurement of drug metabolites (tamoxifen, N-desmethyltamoxifen, E and Z isomers of both 4-OHT and endoxifen These fresh frozen tissue samples along with the paraffin block, plasma, and buffy coat samples will be sent as a single shipment for each participant (frozen samples on dry ice) to NU from participating sites. FFPE blocks will be shipped in cold condition. At NUPCF, the Sample B FFPE will be sectioned and stained with H&E to determine the tissue composition of the drug concentration sample. The histology findings from this research sample will not be reported back to clinical teams.

Mastectomy sampling procedures (for subjects who opt for mastectomy)

At five sites (Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Duke, St Elizabeth, University of Kansas), the drug concentration samples will be harvested by the grossing pathologist as described above in Section The location of these two samples will be 1) superficial, one centimeter from the superficial surface of the mastectomy specimen, and 2) deep, one centimeter from the deep aspect of the mastectomy specimen. These samples may be taken from the location that is remote to the known location of the DCIS.

At two sites (NU and MSKCC) the mastectomy specimen will be grossed according to the scheme developed for a previous topical gel study.

Paraffin blocks: As each subject is enrolled, the sites will indicate on the pre-enrollment form whether the DCNB was performed at the enrolling institution, or elsewhere. If elsewhere, the name of the hospital and contact information for the Pathology Department of that hospital will be provided. If DCNB was not done at the enrolling institution, NU-PCF NU PCF will work with the enrolling site as needed to acquire DCNB material from the site where the DCNB was performed. If DCNB was done at the enrolling institution, the study coordinator will place a request for that block to be retrieved as soon as the surgical date is known, to avoid delays caused by block retrieval.

At the end of study participation, for each subject, the paraffin blocks of the DCNB (if done at the enrolling institution) and the surgical samples will be assembled by each site as soon as the final pathology on the surgical sample has been reported. The study consent will include a statement providing permission to the hospitals involved in diagnosis and therapy (which may not be the same) to release the DCNB block and a selected surgical block to NU for study purposes. At NU PCF, the pre- and post-therapy sample blocks will be sectioned at the same time following the completion of participation of each subject. A minimum of 15 sections will be taken for: H&E, Ki67, DCIS-Score and other markers (CD68, COX2, p16), cytokeratin (CK) as epithelial classifier and at least one extra for possible repeats. All sections will be saved, vacuum-sealed and cold, until the conclusion of the study. In this way, pre- and post-therapy sections for each biomarker will be processed in the same batch.

Slide submission for Exact Sciences DCIS-Score: Eight unstained slides of DCBN pre-therapy block will be submitted immediately to GHI (so that the data can be used for radiation therapy decision if needed). Eight unstained slides of post-therapy block will be reserved in the NU PCF and shipped as a single batch after the study is complete and all participant samples have been received at NU.

Institutions that do not allow release of paraffin blocks despite participant consent. These institutions will provide unstained sections of the paraffin block as detailed above.

Institutions that do provide paraffin blocks: these will be returned to the institution where the sample was taken once the protocol-defined sections have been taken, typically within 3 months of submission to NU.

Timing of sample

Specimen is obtained without regard to time of day or fasting, it will be determined by time of study visits. Circulating biomarkers are not significantly affected by time of day.

Temperature storage requirements

  • FFPE samples will be stored and shipped cold
  • Fresh tissue will be stored at -80°C and shipped on dry ice
  • Blood will be processed and aliquoted to yield serum, plasma, Buffy coat, stored at -80°C and shipped on dry ice.

Storage duration

Samples will be stored until analysis are completed and published, at which point it will be transferred to the DCP repository.

Number of Biospecimen Vials/Slides Collected Per Person,
*Specimen not available for selection
**No frozen tissue is available, only FFPE samples
Material Registration Visit 1 Visit 2
Plasma (2.7 mL/10mL) 2/2 2/2
Buffy Coat (10 mL)* 2 2
Tissue** 1 (Core Biopsy) 1 1 (Surgical)