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Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading reason for cancer-related death among women. Neoadjuvant treatment with dual-HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) blockade has shown promising effects in this regard. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of a proposed pertuzumab biosimilar with the reference pertuzumab. Methods This randomized, phase III, multicenter, equivalency clinical trial was conducted on chemotherapy-naive women with HER2-positive breast cancer. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive six cycles of either P013 (CinnaGen, Iran) or the originator product (Perjeta, Roche, Switzerland) along with trastuzumab, carboplatin, and docetaxel every 3 weeks. Patients were stratified by cancer type (operable, locally advanced, inflammatory) and hormone receptor status. The primary endpoint was breast pathologic complete response (bpCR). Secondary endpoints included comparisons of total pCR, overall response rate (ORR), breast-conserving surgery (BCS), safety, and immunogenicity. Results Two hundred fourteen patients were randomized to treatment groups. bpCR rate in the per-protocol population was 67.62% in the P013 and 71.57% in the reference drug groups. Based on bpCR, P013 was equivalent to the reference pertuzumab with a mean difference of − 0.04 (95% CI: − 0.16, 0.09). Secondary endpoints were also comparable between the two groups. Conclusions The proposed biosimilar P013 was equivalent to the reference product in terms of efficacy. The safety of both medications was also comparable.

Abstract Objectives In this study, we investigate the effect of hydroxychloroquine on the prevention of Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in cancer patients being treated. Trial design This is a multi-centre, two-arm, parallel-group, triple-blind, phase 2-3 randomised controlled trial. Participants All patients over the age of 15 from 5 types of cancer are included in the study. Patients with acute lymphoid and myeloid leukemias in the first line treated with curative intent, patients with high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with leukemia protocols and patients with non-metastatic breast and colon cancer in the first line of treatment will enter the study. The exclusion criteria will include known sensitivity to Hydroxychloroquine, weight below 35 kilograms, history of retinopathy, history of any cardiac disease, acute respiratory tract infection in the last 2 months, having COVID-19 in the first two weeks of entering the trial, having Diabetes Mellitus, having an immuno-suppressive disease other than cancer, having chronic pulmonary disease and taking immuno-suppressant drug other than chemotherapeutic agents for current cancer. This study is performed in five academic centres affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Intervention and comparator Patients are randomly assigned to two groups; one being given hydroxychloroquine and the other is given placebo. During two months of treatment, the two groups are treated with either hydroxychloroquine (Amin® Pharmaceutical Company, Isfahan, Iran) or placebo (identical in terms of shape, colour, smell) as a single 200 mg tablet every other day. Patients will be monitored for COVID-19 symptoms during the follow-up period. If signs or symptoms occur (fever, cough, shortness of breath), they will be examined and investigated with a high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scan of the lungs, COVID-19 specific IgM, IgG antibody assay and a nucleic acid amplification test (NAT) for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Main outcomes The primary end point of this study is to investigate the incidence of COVID-19 in patients being treated for their cancer over a 2-month period. Randomisation Randomisation will be performed using randomly permuted blocks. By using an online website ( www.randomization.com ) the randomization sequence will be produced by quadruple blocks. The allocation ratio in intervention and control groups is 1:1. Blinding (masking) Participants and caregivers do not know whether the patient is in the intervention or the control group. The outcome assessor and the data analyst are also blinded to group assignment. Numbers to be randomised (sample size) The calculated total sample size is 60 patients, with 30 patients in each group. Trial Status The trial began on April 14, 2020 and recruitment is ongoing. Recruitment is anticipated to be completed by June 14, 2020 There has been no change in study protocol since approval, protocol version 1 was approved April 12, 2020. Trial registration This trial has been registered by the title of “Effect of Hydroxychloroquine on Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) prevention in cancer patients under treatment” in Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) with code “IRCT20200405046958N1”, https://www.irct.ir/trial/46946 . Registration date is April 14, 2020. Full protocol The full protocol is attached as an additional file, accessible from the Trials website (Additional file 1). In the interest in expediting dissemination of this material, the familiar formatting has been eliminated; this Letter serves as a summary of the key elements of the full protocol.