NCI Is Seeking Mesothelioma Patients for New Clinical Trial

Patients with malignant mesothelioma can participate in an unprecedented clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that involves matching tumor-related genetic mutations with specific drugs that target the corresponding abnormality. The clinical trial has the potential to change cancer treatment in the future, allowing doctors to prescribe drugs based on the molecular cause of the cancer, not the origin or source of the cancer. It could enhance the potential for treatment success. "It is a unique, groundbreaking trial," said NCI Acting Director Dr. Doug Lowy, when he announced the trial. "It is the first study in oncology that incorporates all of the tenets of precision medicine. There are no other cancer clinical trials of this size and scope that truly bring the promise of targeted treatment to patients whose cancers have specific genetic abnormalities." The name of the trial is NCI-MATCH (Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice) and open enrollment begins in July. The exact date has not been announced. Treatment for each individual patient will be based on a genetic abnormality, regardless of the cancer type, which is not the way cancers traditionally are treated. More than 20 different drugs will be used in the trial. Some of these will be experimental, while others are already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. One of the drugs included in the trial is defactinib (VS-6063), wh...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news