Lakeland Regional Cancer Center (LRCC) is offering a new trial for men with hormone refractory prostate cancer. G. Byron Hodge, MD, urological oncologist and principle investigator for the trial, says LRCC is the first cancer center in the country to enroll a patient for this ground-breaking study.
“This trial is offered to patients who have received hormone therapy for prostate cancer and have progressed either with bone metastasis, a new soft tissue tumor, or a rising PSA,” said Dr. Hodge.
The trial is offered in partnership with Isis Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnical company and the leader in antisense drug development. As part of the trial, patients receive a new medication, which is a substance that keeps a chemical connection from occurring at the cell level, thus prohibiting the growth of tumor cells.
In January, LRCC enrolled its first patient for the trial, Merle Clark, a Haines City resident who was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005. In 2007, he learned that it had spread to the bone. When LRCC patient Merle Clark and his family heard about the trial being offered, they were on board from the get-go.
“I have an aggressive type of cancer and it was time to take drastic measures,” said Clark. “When I heard about the trial from Dr. Hodge, I felt privileged to have this type of care and the chance to help others who may be in my shoes one day.”
Clark’s participation in the trial is well underway. He has taken the new medication, and will soon undergo the current standard chemotherapy treatment of taxotere with prednisone.
“By adding the trial drug to chemotherapy, it is hoped that the patient will receive additional benefits because the cancer is being attacked in two different ways,” said Robin S. Stewart, RN, PhD,OCN,CCRC, Manager of Clinical Research at LRCC.
The study includes follow-up testing to assess how the investigational drug is metabolized in the body and how it interacts with standard chemotherapy.
For more information about this trial or about LRCC, please go to www.lrmc.com or call (863) 603-6565.