How to Treat Rectal Cancer after Surgery? A Clinical Trial

Focus on Clinical Trials

Can adding Avastin® (bevacizumab) to FOLFOX therapy after surgery and presurgical chemoradiotherapy reduce recurrence and improve survival for patients with rectal cancer?

A clinical trial to answer this question is underway and is looking for participants.  Led by a team of researchers from several clinical trials cooperative groups, the E5204 study randomly assigns patients who have already completed a course of chemoradiotherapy and had their rectal cancer removed surgically to either FOLFOX or FOLFOX plus Avastin. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on February 2nd, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: clinical trials, rectal cancer

Clinical Trials: Hope and Future

Last Thursday we saw a 32 year old female with metastatic rectal cancer who had received all the best therapies so far but her oncologist was running out of treatment options.

The patient was not ready to give up and was looking for other options from clinical trials. She contacted our center to get more information on a number of clinical trials. We met with her and her parents to discuss potential treatment possibilities for her. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 14th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | No Comments »
Tags: clinical trials, Knowing About Clinical Trials

Clinical Trial: Vaccine Therapy after Surgery

Can the body develop an immune response that will destroy cancer cells in the body and prevent cancer from returning after surgery to remove metastatic tumors?  If it can, what’s the best way to do that?

Researchers are studying vaccines and immune response in patients whose colorectal cancer has spread beyond their original cancer to their liver or lungs.  They’re looking for patients who have completed surgery for a  clinical trial of PANVAC-VF. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on October 28th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: clinical trials, vaccines

Clinical Trial Testing Ultrasound System for Painful Bone Mets

Cancer that has spread to the bone can be excruciatingly painful.  Currently radiation treatment or opiate drugs are used to manage pain, but these are not always successful.

A system that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasound treatment to destroy bone tumors and treat pain is being evaluated in a randomized Phase III clinical trial at a number of centers in the United States, Canada, and Israel.

BM004: A Pivotal Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness and Safety of ExAblate Treatment of Metastatic Bone Tumors for the Palliation of Pain in Patients Who are not Candidates for Radiation Therapy is sponsored by InSightec Ltd. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on July 25th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: bone metastases, clinical trials, pain

Stage II and III Colon Cancer Patients Sought for Interviews

Research to Practice, a medical and patient education group, is looking for patients who have been recently diagnosed with either stage II or III colon cancer and are either receiving chemotherapy for their cancer or deciding whether or not to have chemotherapy.

Patient surveys will be used to understand patient perspectives as they make treatment decisions about chemotherapy after surgery and their experiences throughout chemotherapy and afterwards.  Information will be analyzed and presented to health professionals who work with colon cancer patients. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on July 18th, 2008
Posted in: C3 News, Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: clinical trials, patient education