Clinical Trials
Clinical trial evaluates T-cell therapy for advanced mesothelin-expressing cancers
Some cancer cells express a higher-than-normal amount of mesothelin, which makes them more likely to multiply and spread to other parts of the body. Raffit Hassan, M.D., of the Thoracic and GI Malignancies Branch, is leading a trial that tests T-cell immunotherapy for patients with cancer of the lung and its lining, ovarian cancer and bile duct cancer that express high levels of mesothelin.
Read MoreClinical trial will test radiotracer imaging for high-risk localized prostate cancer
Many men with prostate cancer are diagnosed at an early stage of the disease when the cancer is confined to the prostate. However, about 20 percent are diagnosed with high-risk disease, which tends to spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body. William Dahut, M.D., Senior Investigator in the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, is leading a study using positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with radioactive material to try and identify places in the body where prostate cancer has spread.
Read MoreMetastatic breast cancer survivor shares her clinical trial story
We’re celebrating breast cancer awareness month by sharing the story of Samantha Seinfeld, a metastatic breast cancer survivor who participated in a CCR first-in-human clinical trial over 10 years ago. Since then, she has remained cancer-free. Margaret Gatti-Mays, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., Assistant Research Physician in the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, and James Gulley, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, are currently evaluating Samantha’s unusual immune response in hopes of improving the responses of other patients.
Read MorePediatric Oncology Branch patient shares neurofibromatosis journey at NIH
Xavier, a patient in the Pediatric Oncology Branch, was born with an incompletely formed leg bone and a large number of dark spots all over his body. When Xavier broke his weak leg at only 11 months of age, he was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). He came to the NIH for treatment, and his tumors have shrunk by more than 20 percent thanks to treatment with selumetinib.
Read MoreInvestigators test combination therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in new trial
Patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) may be eligible to participate in a new clinical trial at the NIH Clinical Center. This trial tests a therapy of a novel radiosensitizer, birinapant, in combination with radiotherapy for patients whose HNSCC has come back at or near the place of the original tumor.
Read MoreNew clinical program will study metastatic colorectal cancer in viable patient tissue samples
Jonathan Hernandez, M.D., Investigator in the Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch, has established a new clinical program to understand how metastases form, which may yield insights into how to treat or even prevent them. The program will conduct first-of-their-kind studies with tumor-containing liver that is kept alive outside of the body after it is removed from a patient. Read more…
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