Team Draft and the National Lung Cancer Partnership Team Up to Tackle Lung Cancer
Released: 3/19/2012
Source: National Lung Cancer Partnership
ATLANTA, GA and MADISON, WIS. – March 19, 2012 – Team Draft and the National Lung Cancer Partnership (the Partnership) are joining forces to bring much needed attention and critical resources to lung cancer. The disease takes the lives of more than 150,000 people in the U.S. each year, and claimed the life of Keasha Draft, wife of former NFL linebacker, Chris Draft, in late 2011.
Team Draft, an initiative of the Chris Draft Family Foundation, and the Partnership are committed to raising lung cancer awareness and increasing crucially needed research funding by shattering the misconception that lung cancer is a “smoker’s disease.” The fact is, anybody can get lung cancer. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people who have never smoked—including Keasha—are diagnosed with lung cancer in the U. S. each year. The smoking stigma negatively impacts lung cancer research funding, which pales in comparison to funding for other major cancers and diseases.
“Lung cancer came into my house, and it took my wife. Too many families are affected by this horrible disease. It’s time to respond,” said Draft. “That’s why Keasha and I launched Team Draft. She wanted to be an inspiration to those battling the disease and we wanted to raise awareness so that other families wouldn’t have to go through what we went through. Team Draft is committed to changing the face of lung cancer, but it takes a team to tackle cancer, and we are proud to partner with the National Lung Cancer Partnership.”
Along with the Partnership, Team Draft is launching the East Coast leg of a nationwide public awareness campaign to change the face of lung cancer. The two-week tour will include stops at some of the top cancer research and treatment facilities in the country, including several members of the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (the LCMC).
The LCMC is a National Lung Cancer Partnership-supported initiative made up of 14 leading cancer centers that is revolutionizing the way lung cancer is treated by promoting molecular tumor testing for lung cancer patients. Molecular testing is one of the keys to developing effective personalized lung cancer treatments. The LCMC cancer centers have facilitated targeted treatments for hundreds of patients, through innovative, genetically driven clinical trials as well as commercially available therapies.
"Chris Draft is not alone. Too many families are facing lung cancer in their lives. The National Lung Cancer Partnership is committed to advancing treatments – and cures – for more patients so families like Chris’ won’t have to go through such loss,” said Dr. Regina Vidaver, Executive Director of the Partnership. “The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium is an amazing vehicle to improve patient care, and we are honored to have Chris’ involvement in the initiative,” she said.
Join Team Draft and the National Lung Cancer Partnership today to help change the face of lung cancer. Spread the word on Facebook and Twitter that that anyone can get lung cancer, even people who have never smoked, like Keasha. Visit www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org for content to share with Facebook and Twitter followers. Also consider supporting the national public awareness campaign by donating to Team Draft at www.teamdraft.org and to the Partnership at www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org.
Source: National Lung Cancer Partnership
ATLANTA, GA and MADISON, WIS. – March 19, 2012 – Team Draft and the National Lung Cancer Partnership (the Partnership) are joining forces to bring much needed attention and critical resources to lung cancer. The disease takes the lives of more than 150,000 people in the U.S. each year, and claimed the life of Keasha Draft, wife of former NFL linebacker, Chris Draft, in late 2011.
Team Draft, an initiative of the Chris Draft Family Foundation, and the Partnership are committed to raising lung cancer awareness and increasing crucially needed research funding by shattering the misconception that lung cancer is a “smoker’s disease.” The fact is, anybody can get lung cancer. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people who have never smoked—including Keasha—are diagnosed with lung cancer in the U. S. each year. The smoking stigma negatively impacts lung cancer research funding, which pales in comparison to funding for other major cancers and diseases.
“Lung cancer came into my house, and it took my wife. Too many families are affected by this horrible disease. It’s time to respond,” said Draft. “That’s why Keasha and I launched Team Draft. She wanted to be an inspiration to those battling the disease and we wanted to raise awareness so that other families wouldn’t have to go through what we went through. Team Draft is committed to changing the face of lung cancer, but it takes a team to tackle cancer, and we are proud to partner with the National Lung Cancer Partnership.”
Along with the Partnership, Team Draft is launching the East Coast leg of a nationwide public awareness campaign to change the face of lung cancer. The two-week tour will include stops at some of the top cancer research and treatment facilities in the country, including several members of the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (the LCMC).
The LCMC is a National Lung Cancer Partnership-supported initiative made up of 14 leading cancer centers that is revolutionizing the way lung cancer is treated by promoting molecular tumor testing for lung cancer patients. Molecular testing is one of the keys to developing effective personalized lung cancer treatments. The LCMC cancer centers have facilitated targeted treatments for hundreds of patients, through innovative, genetically driven clinical trials as well as commercially available therapies.
"Chris Draft is not alone. Too many families are facing lung cancer in their lives. The National Lung Cancer Partnership is committed to advancing treatments – and cures – for more patients so families like Chris’ won’t have to go through such loss,” said Dr. Regina Vidaver, Executive Director of the Partnership. “The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium is an amazing vehicle to improve patient care, and we are honored to have Chris’ involvement in the initiative,” she said.
Join Team Draft and the National Lung Cancer Partnership today to help change the face of lung cancer. Spread the word on Facebook and Twitter that that anyone can get lung cancer, even people who have never smoked, like Keasha. Visit www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org for content to share with Facebook and Twitter followers. Also consider supporting the national public awareness campaign by donating to Team Draft at www.teamdraft.org and to the Partnership at www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org.
Pfizer Lung Cancer Drug Promising in Early Tests
Released: 6/5/2010
Source: www.asco.com
CHICAGO—It's way too soon to declare success, but an experimental drug for lung cancer patients with a certain gene showed extraordinary promise in early testing, doctors reported at a cancer conference on Saturday. More than 90 percent of the 82 patients in a study saw their tumors shrink after two months on the drug, Pfizer Inc.'s crizotinib, (crih-ZAH-tin-ib), researchers reported. Doctors had expected only about 10 percent of these very sick patients to respond to the drug, according to one of the study's leaders, Dr. Yung-Jue Bang of the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea. These were people with advanced disease, including some whose cancers had spread to the brain. They had already tried an average of three other drugs. Responses to crizotinib have lasted up to 15 months so far, and the drug has been rushed into late-stage testing, Bang said. Many leading cancer specialists, who normally don't get excited until a drug proves effective in large studies against existing treatments, said the research so far on crizotinib was promising. "It's early, but I'm impressed by it. It looks extremely effective," said Dr. Roy Herbst, lung cancer chief at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has consulted for makers of other lung cancer drugs but not this one. Dr. Alice Shaw, the Massachusetts General Hospital doctor who is leading a larger study of crizotinib, agreed. "I don't think there is false hope. The data are so strong," she said. The drug targets a gene that promotes tumor growth and is found in about 4 percent of lung cancers, especially among younger, non-smokers. This small percentage is still a lot of people: nearly 220,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States alone, and it is the world's top cancer killer. That means that up to 10,000 people in the U.S. annually could benefit, said Dr. Mark Kris, a lung cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who has consulted for Pfizer. Two other gene-targeted treatments, Tarceva and Iressa, help about 20,000 lung cancer patients annually in theU.S. "We're chipping away at large numbers of patients," and future gene discoveries should add to the number helped, Herbst said. The gene targeted by crizotinib was discovered in 2007, Kris noted. "Once we understand a cancer cell, we can come up with a treatment very quickly," he said. No show-stopping side effects were seen in the first study—half of patients on crizotinib had diarrhea, nausea or vomiting—but much larger tests are needed to establish safety. Even more testing is needed to see if the drug is more effective than existing treatments, how long any benefits last, and whether it improves survival—not just shrinks tumors. Pfizer sponsored the study and has already launched bigger studies to compare crizotinib to current standard treatments. The company hopes to seek federal Food and Drug Administration approval for the drug next year. The study was presented Saturday at a meeting in Chicago of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Doctor Fighting Lung Cancer Tells His Story
Released: 5/13/2010
Source: www.LCFAmerica.org
Click here to view video: http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/health/doctor-fights-lung-cancer-20100513
Get Your Lung Cancer Tumor Tested… Free!
Released: 5/19/2010
Source: www.LCFAmerica.org
Exciting new research is evolving that can test your lung cancer tumor tissue for specific gene mutations! If you are one of the 28% of lung cancer patients with one of these specific mutations, you can then be matched to a targeted therapy that is specifically linked to your unique tumor mutation. LCFA is very excited about the potential of this new personalized targeted therapy and the positive impact it can have on the survival rate for lung cancer patients. Click here for more information and to see a listing of the 14 institutions that are participating in the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium Protocol.
UT Southwestern Participates in NationwideStudy Offering Free Lung Tumor Genetic Testing
Released: 5/7/2010 2:45 PM
Newswise — UT Southwestern Medical Center is the only site in North Texas participating in a national study that offers advanced lung-cancer patients free screenings of their tumors for genetic mutations, some of which might be targets for treatment with existing or experimental therapies.
UT Southwestern’s Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of 14 medical sites in the U.S. to participate in the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium Protocol, a federally funded study coordinated by researchers at the University of Colorado.
Dr. Joan Schiller, chief of hematology/oncology and deputy director of the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, is the principal investigator of the study at UT Southwestern.
“The aim of the project is to identify mutations in malignant lung tumors,” Dr. Schiller said. “Ultimately, we hope to use this information to develop therapies that specifically target or disable those mutations, providing an opportunity to customize treatment to each patient’s tumor characteristics. This will lead to more effective and less toxic therapies.”
The study’s investigators believe that identifying mutations in malignant lung tumors will help advance understanding of the frequency of mutations, their relationship to each other and their association with the tumor’s clinical features.
Study participants will have their tumors tested at no cost to them and will have access to their results. In addition, medical professionals will guide participants to any current clinical trials of drugs that target specific mutations found in their tumors. Researchers at the 14 consortium sites also will compile a database so that as new therapies are developed, they can contact patients and link them to clinical trials investigating their specific tumor mutations.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., and the second-most diagnosed form of cancer. More than 60 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked or quit smoking decades ago.
Individuals interested in participating in this study locally should contact Erin Fenske, clinical research manager for the lung cancer program, 214-648-1688.
The study is made possible by a $5.2 million Grand Opportunities grant to the University of Colorado, funded through the National Institutes of Health by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Information about additional study sites is available at www.uccc.info.
Visit www.utsouthwestern.org/cancercenter to learn more about clinical services for cancer at UT Southwestern.
Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium
The key to personalized, targeted cancer treatment is knowing which gene mutations are driving the tumor. UCCC’s lung cancer team is world renowned in both discovery of and testing for gene mutations, notably creating a test for EGFR-positive lung cancer that helps identify patients who will benefit from EGFR-inhibitor therapy, such as erlotnib (Tarceva®) and gefitnib (Iressa®).
UCCC received a $5.2 million ARRA Grand Opportunities Grant to lead the creation of the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium, a 13-center tumor banking protocol that is offering free gene mutation screenings for lung cancer patients across the country.
Dr. Paul A. Bunn, Jr., professor of medical oncology at the SOM, is leading the consortium. Dr. Wilbur Franklin, professor of pathology at the SOM, is the Colorado principal investigator.
“Cancer is no longer a one-size-fits-all disease,” Bunn says. “We have to have as much information as possible to give the exact right treatment to each and every patient. This project should give us much more information than we’ve ever had before.”
The protocol tests tumors for specific gene mutations known to happen in lung cancer. The end goals are to understand the frequency of each mutation, their relationships to each other and association with a tumor’s clinical features, as well as which specific drugs work against each mutation and how often.
For example, researchers think lung cancers with newly discovered genetic changes such as the ALK fusion gene or BRAF mutation may be more sensitive to new experimental oral drugs—treatments that could work better for these patients than traditional IV chemotherapy.
“We’ve shown in many studies now that if we know what the gene problems are in your tumor and we have drugs that take advantage of those problems, then you are likely to get better results, have better quality of life and live longer than if we treat you with the old standard of care,” Bunn says.
Patients who enroll to have their tumor tested may be able to make more sensible choices about treatment in collaboration with one of the center’s expert lung cancer physicians. Enrollment for patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung (the most common subtype of lung cancer) is now open in Colorado and other consortium sites.
www. uccc.info/C3
Free Lung Tumor Testing for People with Advanced Lung Cancer
The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (LCMC) is clinical trial led by the University of Colorado Cancer Center, with participation by 13 other cancer centers across the United States. From 2009-2011, the trial will collect and study tumor tissue samples from patients to look for specific mutations known to happen in lung cancer and to understand:
Patients who enroll in this clinical trial to have their tumor tested may also qualify for an existing clinical trial for a specific inhibitor drug, such as erlotinib for EGFR overexpression, the most common gene mutation seen in adenocarcinoma tumors of the lungs.
Last year, UCCC lung cancer scientists published a study that showed erlotinib combined with standard chemotherapy doubled the expected lifespan for lung cancer patients with EGFR-positive tumors. Those same UCCC scientists developed the screening tool for EGFR expression.
“We’ve shown in many studies now that if we know what the gene problems are in your tumor and we have drugs that takes advantage of those problems, then you are likely to get better results, have better quality of life and live longer than if we treat you with the old standard of care,” said Dr. Paul Bunn, the study’s co-principal investigator. “Cancer is no longer a one-size-fits-all disease. We have to have as much information as possible to give the exact right treatment to each and every patient. This project should give us much more information than we’ve ever had before.”
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01014286
University of Colorado Cancer Center Offers Free Genetic Tumor Screening
Testing in Colorado, 13 other leading centers, comes with the award of $5.2 million ARRA award
Aurora, Colo. (Oct. 19, 2009)--The University of Colorado Cancer Center and 13 other leading centers offer free genetic tumor screenings for lung cancer patients thanks to a $5.2 million Grand Opportunities grant, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The project, called the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium Protocol, aims to identify mutations in lung adenocarcinoma tumors for which there are specific, more effective and less toxic oral therapies.
Dr. Paul A. Bunn, Jr., a world renowned lung cancer researcher and UCCC’s founding director, will lead the consortium. Dr. Wilbur Franklin, professor of pathology at the University of Colorado Denver and UCCC member, is the Colorado principal investigator.
“We will be testing the tumors for specific mutations we know happen in lung cancer to understand their frequency, their relationship to each other and their association with the tumor’s clinical features,” said Bunn, professor of medical oncology at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. “We will also be investigating what specific drugs work against these mutations and how often they work.”
Patients who enroll in this clinical trial to have their tumor tested may also qualify for an existing clinical trial for a specific inhibitor drug, such as erlotinib for EGFR overexpression, the most common gene mutation seen in adenocarcinoma tumors of the lungs.
Last year, UCCC lung cancer scientists published a study that showed erlotinib combined with standard chemotherapy doubled the expected lifespan for lung cancer patients with EGFR-positive tumors. Those same UCCC scientists developed the screening tool for EGFR expression.
“We’ve shown in many studies now that if we know what the gene problems are in your tumor and we have drugs that takes advantage of those problems, then you are likely to get better results, have better quality of life and live longer than if we treat you with the old standard of care,” Bunn said. “Cancer is no longer a one-size-fits-all disease. We have to have as much information as possible to give the exact right treatment to each and every patient. This project should give us much more information than we’ve ever had before.”
Clinical trial enrollment is open in Colorado. The free tumor testing is also taking place at:
About the University of Colorado Cancer Center
The University of Colorado Cancer Center is the Rocky Mountain region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. NCI has given only 40 cancer centers this designation, deeming membership as “the best of the best.” Headquartered on the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus , UCCC is a consortium of three state universities (Colorado State University , University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Colorado Denver ) and five institutions (The Children’s Hospital, Denver Health, Denver VA Medical Center, National Jewish Health and University of Colorado Hospital). Together, our 400+ members are working to ease the cancer burden through cancer care, research, education and prevention and control. Learn more at www.uccc.info.
October 19, 2009
Released: 6/5/2010
Source: www.asco.com
CHICAGO—It's way too soon to declare success, but an experimental drug for lung cancer patients with a certain gene showed extraordinary promise in early testing, doctors reported at a cancer conference on Saturday. More than 90 percent of the 82 patients in a study saw their tumors shrink after two months on the drug, Pfizer Inc.'s crizotinib, (crih-ZAH-tin-ib), researchers reported. Doctors had expected only about 10 percent of these very sick patients to respond to the drug, according to one of the study's leaders, Dr. Yung-Jue Bang of the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea. These were people with advanced disease, including some whose cancers had spread to the brain. They had already tried an average of three other drugs. Responses to crizotinib have lasted up to 15 months so far, and the drug has been rushed into late-stage testing, Bang said. Many leading cancer specialists, who normally don't get excited until a drug proves effective in large studies against existing treatments, said the research so far on crizotinib was promising. "It's early, but I'm impressed by it. It looks extremely effective," said Dr. Roy Herbst, lung cancer chief at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has consulted for makers of other lung cancer drugs but not this one. Dr. Alice Shaw, the Massachusetts General Hospital doctor who is leading a larger study of crizotinib, agreed. "I don't think there is false hope. The data are so strong," she said. The drug targets a gene that promotes tumor growth and is found in about 4 percent of lung cancers, especially among younger, non-smokers. This small percentage is still a lot of people: nearly 220,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States alone, and it is the world's top cancer killer. That means that up to 10,000 people in the U.S. annually could benefit, said Dr. Mark Kris, a lung cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who has consulted for Pfizer. Two other gene-targeted treatments, Tarceva and Iressa, help about 20,000 lung cancer patients annually in theU.S. "We're chipping away at large numbers of patients," and future gene discoveries should add to the number helped, Herbst said. The gene targeted by crizotinib was discovered in 2007, Kris noted. "Once we understand a cancer cell, we can come up with a treatment very quickly," he said. No show-stopping side effects were seen in the first study—half of patients on crizotinib had diarrhea, nausea or vomiting—but much larger tests are needed to establish safety. Even more testing is needed to see if the drug is more effective than existing treatments, how long any benefits last, and whether it improves survival—not just shrinks tumors. Pfizer sponsored the study and has already launched bigger studies to compare crizotinib to current standard treatments. The company hopes to seek federal Food and Drug Administration approval for the drug next year. The study was presented Saturday at a meeting in Chicago of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Doctor Fighting Lung Cancer Tells His Story
Released: 5/13/2010
Source: www.LCFAmerica.org
Click here to view video: http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/health/doctor-fights-lung-cancer-20100513
Get Your Lung Cancer Tumor Tested… Free!
Released: 5/19/2010
Source: www.LCFAmerica.org
Exciting new research is evolving that can test your lung cancer tumor tissue for specific gene mutations! If you are one of the 28% of lung cancer patients with one of these specific mutations, you can then be matched to a targeted therapy that is specifically linked to your unique tumor mutation. LCFA is very excited about the potential of this new personalized targeted therapy and the positive impact it can have on the survival rate for lung cancer patients. Click here for more information and to see a listing of the 14 institutions that are participating in the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium Protocol.
UT Southwestern Participates in NationwideStudy Offering Free Lung Tumor Genetic Testing
Released: 5/7/2010 2:45 PM
Newswise — UT Southwestern Medical Center is the only site in North Texas participating in a national study that offers advanced lung-cancer patients free screenings of their tumors for genetic mutations, some of which might be targets for treatment with existing or experimental therapies.
UT Southwestern’s Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of 14 medical sites in the U.S. to participate in the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium Protocol, a federally funded study coordinated by researchers at the University of Colorado.
Dr. Joan Schiller, chief of hematology/oncology and deputy director of the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, is the principal investigator of the study at UT Southwestern.
“The aim of the project is to identify mutations in malignant lung tumors,” Dr. Schiller said. “Ultimately, we hope to use this information to develop therapies that specifically target or disable those mutations, providing an opportunity to customize treatment to each patient’s tumor characteristics. This will lead to more effective and less toxic therapies.”
The study’s investigators believe that identifying mutations in malignant lung tumors will help advance understanding of the frequency of mutations, their relationship to each other and their association with the tumor’s clinical features.
Study participants will have their tumors tested at no cost to them and will have access to their results. In addition, medical professionals will guide participants to any current clinical trials of drugs that target specific mutations found in their tumors. Researchers at the 14 consortium sites also will compile a database so that as new therapies are developed, they can contact patients and link them to clinical trials investigating their specific tumor mutations.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., and the second-most diagnosed form of cancer. More than 60 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked or quit smoking decades ago.
Individuals interested in participating in this study locally should contact Erin Fenske, clinical research manager for the lung cancer program, 214-648-1688.
The study is made possible by a $5.2 million Grand Opportunities grant to the University of Colorado, funded through the National Institutes of Health by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Information about additional study sites is available at www.uccc.info.
Visit www.utsouthwestern.org/cancercenter to learn more about clinical services for cancer at UT Southwestern.
Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium
The key to personalized, targeted cancer treatment is knowing which gene mutations are driving the tumor. UCCC’s lung cancer team is world renowned in both discovery of and testing for gene mutations, notably creating a test for EGFR-positive lung cancer that helps identify patients who will benefit from EGFR-inhibitor therapy, such as erlotnib (Tarceva®) and gefitnib (Iressa®).
UCCC received a $5.2 million ARRA Grand Opportunities Grant to lead the creation of the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium, a 13-center tumor banking protocol that is offering free gene mutation screenings for lung cancer patients across the country.
Dr. Paul A. Bunn, Jr., professor of medical oncology at the SOM, is leading the consortium. Dr. Wilbur Franklin, professor of pathology at the SOM, is the Colorado principal investigator.
“Cancer is no longer a one-size-fits-all disease,” Bunn says. “We have to have as much information as possible to give the exact right treatment to each and every patient. This project should give us much more information than we’ve ever had before.”
The protocol tests tumors for specific gene mutations known to happen in lung cancer. The end goals are to understand the frequency of each mutation, their relationships to each other and association with a tumor’s clinical features, as well as which specific drugs work against each mutation and how often.
For example, researchers think lung cancers with newly discovered genetic changes such as the ALK fusion gene or BRAF mutation may be more sensitive to new experimental oral drugs—treatments that could work better for these patients than traditional IV chemotherapy.
“We’ve shown in many studies now that if we know what the gene problems are in your tumor and we have drugs that take advantage of those problems, then you are likely to get better results, have better quality of life and live longer than if we treat you with the old standard of care,” Bunn says.
Patients who enroll to have their tumor tested may be able to make more sensible choices about treatment in collaboration with one of the center’s expert lung cancer physicians. Enrollment for patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung (the most common subtype of lung cancer) is now open in Colorado and other consortium sites.
www. uccc.info/C3
Free Lung Tumor Testing for People with Advanced Lung Cancer
The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (LCMC) is clinical trial led by the University of Colorado Cancer Center, with participation by 13 other cancer centers across the United States. From 2009-2011, the trial will collect and study tumor tissue samples from patients to look for specific mutations known to happen in lung cancer and to understand:
- the frequency of each type of mutation
- their relationship to each other
- their association with the tumor’s clinical features
- which drugs work against each mutation and how often they work
Patients who enroll in this clinical trial to have their tumor tested may also qualify for an existing clinical trial for a specific inhibitor drug, such as erlotinib for EGFR overexpression, the most common gene mutation seen in adenocarcinoma tumors of the lungs.
Last year, UCCC lung cancer scientists published a study that showed erlotinib combined with standard chemotherapy doubled the expected lifespan for lung cancer patients with EGFR-positive tumors. Those same UCCC scientists developed the screening tool for EGFR expression.
“We’ve shown in many studies now that if we know what the gene problems are in your tumor and we have drugs that takes advantage of those problems, then you are likely to get better results, have better quality of life and live longer than if we treat you with the old standard of care,” said Dr. Paul Bunn, the study’s co-principal investigator. “Cancer is no longer a one-size-fits-all disease. We have to have as much information as possible to give the exact right treatment to each and every patient. This project should give us much more information than we’ve ever had before.”
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01014286
University of Colorado Cancer Center Offers Free Genetic Tumor Screening
Testing in Colorado, 13 other leading centers, comes with the award of $5.2 million ARRA award
Aurora, Colo. (Oct. 19, 2009)--The University of Colorado Cancer Center and 13 other leading centers offer free genetic tumor screenings for lung cancer patients thanks to a $5.2 million Grand Opportunities grant, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The project, called the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium Protocol, aims to identify mutations in lung adenocarcinoma tumors for which there are specific, more effective and less toxic oral therapies.
Dr. Paul A. Bunn, Jr., a world renowned lung cancer researcher and UCCC’s founding director, will lead the consortium. Dr. Wilbur Franklin, professor of pathology at the University of Colorado Denver and UCCC member, is the Colorado principal investigator.
“We will be testing the tumors for specific mutations we know happen in lung cancer to understand their frequency, their relationship to each other and their association with the tumor’s clinical features,” said Bunn, professor of medical oncology at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. “We will also be investigating what specific drugs work against these mutations and how often they work.”
Patients who enroll in this clinical trial to have their tumor tested may also qualify for an existing clinical trial for a specific inhibitor drug, such as erlotinib for EGFR overexpression, the most common gene mutation seen in adenocarcinoma tumors of the lungs.
Last year, UCCC lung cancer scientists published a study that showed erlotinib combined with standard chemotherapy doubled the expected lifespan for lung cancer patients with EGFR-positive tumors. Those same UCCC scientists developed the screening tool for EGFR expression.
“We’ve shown in many studies now that if we know what the gene problems are in your tumor and we have drugs that takes advantage of those problems, then you are likely to get better results, have better quality of life and live longer than if we treat you with the old standard of care,” Bunn said. “Cancer is no longer a one-size-fits-all disease. We have to have as much information as possible to give the exact right treatment to each and every patient. This project should give us much more information than we’ve ever had before.”
Clinical trial enrollment is open in Colorado. The free tumor testing is also taking place at:
- The Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute
- Emory University/Winship Cancer Center
- Moffitt Cancer Center
- Johns Hopkins/Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center
- MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Mass General Hospital Cancer Center
- Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute
- National Cancer Institute
- UCLA/Jonssen Cancer Center
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
- University of Texas-Southwestern Cancer Center
- Vanderbilt-Ingraham Cancer Center .
About the University of Colorado Cancer Center
The University of Colorado Cancer Center is the Rocky Mountain region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. NCI has given only 40 cancer centers this designation, deeming membership as “the best of the best.” Headquartered on the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus , UCCC is a consortium of three state universities (Colorado State University , University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Colorado Denver ) and five institutions (The Children’s Hospital, Denver Health, Denver VA Medical Center, National Jewish Health and University of Colorado Hospital). Together, our 400+ members are working to ease the cancer burden through cancer care, research, education and prevention and control. Learn more at www.uccc.info.
October 19, 2009
