This phase II trial studies how well trametinib and v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (Akt) inhibitor GSK2141795 work in treating patients with triple-negative breast cancer (breast cancer cells that do not have estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, or large amounts of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2/neu] protein) that has spread to other places in the body. Trametinib and Akt inhibitor GSK2141795 may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess the anti-tumor activity associated with trametinib monotherapy in patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess the anti-tumor activity associated with trametinib in combination with AKT inhibitor GSK2141795 after progression on trametinib in patients with metastatic TNBC.

II. To determine the progression-free survival following the initiation of treatment with trametinib monotherapy in patients with metastatic TNBC.

III. To determine the progression-free survival following the initiation of treatment with trametinib in combination with GSK2141795 in patients with metastatic TNBC.

IV. To determine the overall survival following the initiation of treatment with trametinib with GSK214179 in patients with metastatic TNBC.

V. To determine the nature and degree of toxicities associated with trametinib monotherapy and trametinib in combination with GSK2141795 in patients with metastatic TNBC.

VI. To determine the biomarker potential of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) to predict response to single agent trametinib.

VII. To determine molecular markers of sensitivity and resistance to trametinib monotherapy and trametinib in combination with GSK2141795 in patients with metastatic TNBC.

OUTLINE:

PART 1: Patients receive trametinib orally (PO) once daily (QD) on days 1-28. Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients who experience disease progression continue to Part 2.

PART 2: Patients receive trametinib as in Part 1 and also receive Akt inhibitor GSK2141795 PO QD on days 1-28. Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 52 weeks.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic invasive breast cancer that is negative for the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 by institutional guidelines
• Patients must have measurable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 [RECIST 1.1])
• Patients must have had exposure to at least 1 and no more than 3 prior chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer
• Patients must consent to both a pretreatment and a post-treatment mandatory research biopsy prior to enrolling on trial, and therefore, must have tissue (excluding bone or brain) that is amenable to biopsy
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1
• Life expectancy of greater than 3 months
• Able to swallow and retain orally administered medication and does not have any clinically significant gastrointestinal abnormalities that may alter absorption such as malabsorption syndrome or major resection of the stomach or bowels
• All prior treatment-related toxicities must be Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4 (CTCAE v4) grade =< 1 (except alopecia) at the time of enrollment
• Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/mcL
• Platelets >= 75,000/mcL
• Total bilirubin =< 1.5 × institutional upper limit of normal
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) =< 2.5 × institutional upper limit of normal
• Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >= institutional lower limit of normal by echocardiogram (ECHO) or multiple gated acquisition scan (MUGA)
• Serum creatinine =< 1.5 mg/dL OR calculated creatinine clearance (Cockcroft-Gault formula) >= 50 mL/min OR 24-hour urine creatinine clearance >= 50 mL/min
• Patients must have controlled blood pressure with a systolic blood pressure < 140 mmHg and diastolic < 90 mmHg; anti-hypertensive medications are permitted
• Patients must be at least 4 weeks from last radiation dose; patients must be at least 4 weeks from last chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or biologic therapy (exception allowed for a 2 week washout for patients who were on chemotherapy at less than a standard of care dose, as long as all other eligibility criteria are met); patients must be at least 4 weeks from last surgical procedure and recovered from all post-operative complications
• Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or 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 trametinib monotherapy or in combination with GSK2141795 administration
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of another malignancy

  • Exception: patients who have been disease-free for 3 years, or patients with a history of completely resected non-melanoma skin cancer and/or patients with indolent secondary malignancies, are eligible

• History of interstitial lung disease or pneumonitis

• History of type I diabetes mellitus; if a patient has type II diabetes, they must have a hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C) =< 8%; patients with a screening fasting glucose > 120 mg/dL will be excluded

• Uncontrolled hypothyroidism; patients must have a normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) per institutional standards at baseline

• Patients who are receiving any other investigational agents

• Individuals with symptomatic or progressive brain metastases are ineligible; subjects with treated brain metastases are eligible if they have no radiographic or other signs of progression in the brain for >= 3 weeks after completion of local therapy; any corticosteroid use for brain metastases must have been discontinued without the subsequent appearance of symptoms for >= 3 weeks prior to study enrollment

• History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to trametinib monotherapy or trametinib in combination with GSK2141795

• Current use of a prohibited medication; the following medications or non-drug therapies are prohibited:

  • Other anti-cancer therapy while on study treatment (megestrol if used as an appetite stimulant is allowed)
  • The concurrent use of all herbal supplements is prohibited during the study (including, but not limited to, St. John's wort, kava, ephedra [ma huang], gingko biloba, yohimbe, saw palmetto, or ginseng)
  • Patients receiving strong inhibitors or inducers of cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A, polypeptide 4 (CYP3A4) are ineligible

• History or current evidence/risk of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) or central serous retinopathy (CSR) or predisposing factors to RVO or CSR (e.g., uncontrolled glaucoma or ocular hypertension, uncontrolled hypertension, history of hyperviscosity or hypercoagulability syndromes; visible retinal pathology as assessed by ophthalmic exam that is considered a risk factor for RVO or CSR such as evidence of new optic disc cupping, evidence of new visual field defects, and intraocular pressure > 21 mm Hg

• 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 trametinib monotherapy or trametinib in combination with GSK2141795

• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible