Researchers at Yale Cancer Center working on an innovative treatment for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) have received one of two grants from the Connecticut Department of Public Health resulting from Tobacco Master Settlement Funds that allocated state funding for biomedical research projects in the fields of heart disease, cancer and other tobacco-related illnesses.
The proposed project will establish a Phase-I clinical trial using a combination of transimmunization and external beam radiation therapy for the treatment of stage IV and IIIb NSCLC. Transimmunization is a form of cancer immunotherapy that includes an overnight co-incubation period, which has been found to more efficiently induce malignant T cell death using antigen presenting dendritic cells. These dendritic cells are capable of stimulating anti-cancer immune responses when reintroduced to the patient.
"The award from the Connecticut Department of Public Health for this novel clinical trial will provide the opportunity to rapidly investigate the safety of a new modality in patients with NSCLC," said Associate Professor Lynn Wilson M.D., clinical director of the Department of Therapeutic Radiology and the principal investigator for the Phase-I trial. "Transimmunization was developed at Yale and we are on the leading edge of this type of investigation."
Currently the treatment for NSCLC is relatively ineffective; fewer than 15 percent of patients diagnosed with NSCLC are cured. While many patients receive second- and third-line chemotherapy treatment, the number that substantially benefit is low. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1,850 men and women will die of lung cancer in Connecticut this year, and that 2,000 new cases will be diagnosed. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in Connecticut .
"This Phase-I safety evaluation study will be the first step toward learning more about the effects of transimmunization in combination with radiation therapy and offers a unique immunotherapy based approach for lung cancer patients with advanced disease who meet enrollment criteria," Wilson explained.
In addition to Dr. Wilson, the research team at Yale Cancer Center includes, Michael Girardi, M.D., Lynn Tanoue, M.D., John Murren, M.D., Carole Berger , Harriet Kluger, M.D., Peter Barrett, M.D., Kacie Thompson, PA-C. For more information on the Phase-I trial contact Kacie Thompson at 203-785-7432.
Established in 1974, Yale Cancer Center was one of the first university-based comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. Today, it is one of a select network of only 39 in the United States , and the only one in Southern New England . Appointments can be made in the Yale-New Haven Lung Cancer Center by calling 203-688-LUNG.
Contact
Renee Gaudette
203-432-8533