Scott & White Healthcare researchers are studying an investigational agent that targets metastatic breast cancer to find if it can stop cancer cells from continuing to grow.
Breast cancer patients, whose disease has spread despite treatment, could be eligible to participate in a Phase II clinical trial to determine the efficacy of an investigational agent used to target the inner workings of cancer cells.
"At Scott & White, one of the things we can offer patients is our novel clinical trials," said Christopher O. Ruud, M.D., director of Scott & White's Breast Cancer Clinic. "By enrolling in this study, patients with metastatic breast cancer can help us learn what works in halting the growth of their cancer cells."
Dr. Ruud, along with Drs. Dan Hadlock, and Juan Posada of Scott & White, is involved in numerous studies targeting breast cancer. Their ultimate goal is to turn breast cancer into a manageable disease.
"Our goal is to help patients continue living a normal life," he said. "That is one of our strategies at Scott & White to find ways to treat breast cancer that has failed other treatments."
Patients eligible for the Phase II clinical trial must have received and discontinued at least two regimens of chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. Phase I research generally seeks to determine the maximum safe level of an agent, identify side effects associated with increasing doses, and to gain early evidence of effectiveness. Phase II trials evaluate the effectiveness of a drug, and its common short-term side effects and risks.
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