clinicaltrialhighlightsCANCER TYPE: Head & neckTRIAL TYPE: Smoking cessationWHY: To reduce delays in careWHY: To offer guidelines when quittingLED BY: Evan Graboyes, M.D.LED BY: Matthew Carpenter, Ph.D., & Tracy Smith, Ph.D.Graboyes is leading a multi-center trial of an enhancedpatient navigation program to reduce delays in head andneck cancer patients starting radiation therapy after surgery.Nationally, about half of these patients don’t begin radiationtherapy on time, leading to worse outcomes.Carpenter and Smith explain that initial failure is commonwhen trying to quit smoking. They’ll conduct a randomizedtrial to test whether people are more likely to succeed inquitting if they stick with the medication that they’re firstprescribed or if they change medication after a relapse.CANCER TYPE: SarcomaCANCER TYPE: ProstateWHY: To make treatment more accessibleWHY: To reduce side effectsLED BY: Jennifer Harper, M.D.LED BY: Harriet Eldredge-Hindy, M.D. (above)Harper developed a trial to test the feasibility of ashorter course of preoperative radiotherapy to ease thelogistical burden of accessing treatment. The trial useshypofractionated therapy: individual doses are higher butthe overall dosage is lower due to fewer sessions.Eldredge-Hindy designed this trial to find an optimal doseof radiation when combining stereotactic ablative bodyradiotherapy (SABR) with organ-sparing techniques. SABRis a newer method of radiation therapy and physicians havenot yet come to consensus on the optimal dose.CANCER TYPE: LymphomaCANCER TYPE: CervicalWHY: To prevent cancer recurrenceWHY: To increase screening ratesLED BY: Brian Hess, M.D.LED BY: Ashish Deshmukh, Ph.D.Hess is leading a national trial to prevent relapse in patientswith partial remission or stable disease after CAR-T celltherapy by using drugs currently prescribed only after arelapse. When CAR-T cell therapy doesn’t completelyeliminate cancer, about 2/3 of patients will face a relapse.Deshmukh is partnering with researchers at the Universityof Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center to testmethods to increase cervical cancer screening rates on theisland. Cervical cancer deaths are increasing in Puerto Ricoeven as they decline in the mainland U.S.14Hollings 2023 Annual Report
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