AKT Inhibitor, Ipatasertib, With Endocrine and CDK 4/6 Inhibitor for Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer (TAKTIC)

Ipatasertib is a type of inhibitor that is believed to work by inhibiting Akt.

Hormone therapies work by stopping the production of a certain hormone, blocking hormone receptors, or substituting chemically similar agents for the active hormone, which cannot be used by the tumor cell.

Letrozole is an aromatase inhibitor. This means it blocks the enzyme aromatase (found in the body's muscle, skin, breast and fat), which is used to convert androgens (hormones produced by the adrenal glands) into estrogen. In the absence of estrogen, tumors dependent on this hormone for growth will shrink.

Palbociclib (Ibrance®) is a drug that can be used along with an aromatase inhibitor to treat women with advanced hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Palbociclib is a reversible small molecule cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor. The drug blocks proteins in the cell called cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 and CDK 6. In hormone positive breast cancer cells, blocking these proteins helps stop the cells from dividing to make new cells. It helps prevent the cells from moving from G1 to S cell cycle phase in the division process. This slows cancer growth.