People with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS), a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma, appear to benefit from immunotherapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor called atezolizumab (Tecentriq), according to results from a small clinical trial. The phase 2 trial was conducted through NCI’s Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network.
On December 6, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab in combination with a standard three-drug regimen as initial treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer that does not have EGFR or ALK mutations. The approval is based on results from the phase 3 IMpower 150 clinical trial.
After 25 years with the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP), Jeff Abrams, M.D., retired from the federal government in November 2018. Dr. Abrams describes his career in oncology and some highlights in cancer research during his time at NCI, including the transformation of the NCI Cooperative Group Program into the National Clinical Trials Network.
This step-by-step guide is intended to help people who are looking for clinical trials. The guide includes questions to ask about clinical trials and points to several resources for clinical trial information.
The NIH Clinical Trials and You website is a resource for people who want to learn more about clinical trials. This page provides answers to common questions about taking part in a clinical trial.
NCI-Supported Clinical Trials That Are Recruiting Patients
This phase 3 trial is comparing standard therapy of ibrutinib and obinutuzumab with a three-drug combination of ibrutininb, obinutuzumab, and venetoclax for patients aged 70 or older with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The study will help determine if the addition of venetoclax improves progression-free survival, complete response rate, and overall survival.
This phase 2 trial tests how well treatment with the experimental drug selumetinib works in patients with neurofibromatosis 1-related gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) that cannot be removed by surgery. Researchers want to see if selumetinib stops the growth of these tumors without causing severe side effects.
This phase 3 trial is comparing post-operative intravenous platinum-based chemotherapy and oral capecitabine for patients with residual triple negative breast cancer following neoadjuvant therapy. The study will help determine if one treatment is better than the other at preventing the disease from coming back.
