Dinaciclib and Epirubicin Hydrochloride in Treating Patients With Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients must have histologically confirmed estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative carcinoma of the breast that is metastatic or unresectable and for which standard curative or palliative measures do not exist or are no longer effective; for purposes of this study, triple negative disease will be tumors that have ER/PR < 10% and HER2 =< 1+ by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or HER2 fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) non-amplified (ratio < 2)
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =< 2 (Karnofsky >= 60%)
Patients must have no more than two prior chemotherapy regimens for metastatic breast cancer; in patients who develop disease recurrence within 6 months of adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy will be considered one prior regimen for metastatic disease
Life expectancy of greater than 3 months
Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/mcL
Platelets >= 100,000/mcL
Total bilirubin within normal limits unless clinical diagnosis of Gilbert's syndrome
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) =< 2.5 X institutional upper limit of normal
Creatinine within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance >= 60 mL/min/1.73 m^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal
Patients must be disease free of prior malignancy for >= 5 years with the exception of curatively treated squamous cell carcinomas of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix or breast
Must have at least one site of objective measurable or evaluable disease; baseline measurements and evaluations must be obtained within 4 weeks of start of therapy
Patients must have no history of prior therapy with dinaciclib
Concurrent use of hormonal therapy is not permitted; concurrent radiation therapy is not permitted; bisphosphonates are allowed, provided that they were started no less than two weeks prior to initiating protocol therapy
Patients must have completed and recovered from the effects of prior chemotherapy (< grade 2 toxicity) excluding alopecia
Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately; men treated or enrolled on this protocol must also agree to use adequate contraception prior to the study, for the duration of study participation, and 4 months after completion of dinaciclib administration
Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 3 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events
Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents
Patients with untreated brain metastases should be excluded from this clinical trial
History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition as epirubicin or dinaciclib
Patients receiving any medications or substances that are inhibitors or inducers of cytochrome P450 family 3, subfamily A, polypeptide 4/5 (CYP3A4/5) are ineligible
Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with dinaciclib
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible
Patients who have had prior organ allograft or require immunosuppressive therapy
Patients who have received a cumulative dose of doxorubicin of greater than 360 mg/m^2 or epirubicin of greater than 600 mg/m^2; patients who have received > 240 mg/m^2 of doxorubicin or > 400 mg/m^2 of epirubicin should be advised to undergo evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with echocardiogram or multi gated acquisition scan (MUGA) prior to initiating therapy
Patients with a history of New York Heart Association class 3 or 4 heart failure, or history of myocardial infarction, unstable angina or cerebral vascular accident (CVA) within 6 months of protocol registration
LVEF < 50% by MUGA or echocardiogram (ECHO)
Patients who have history of PR prolongation or atrioventricular (AV) block