Researchers at Cedars-Sinai have launched a new clinical trial to investigate the effects of a cancer-fighting drug therapy that has shown favorable outcomes in patients with advanced metastatic prostate cancer.
Doctors in the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute are studying the impact of cabozantinib (XL184) in men with prostate cancer that is resistant to medical and surgical treatments and has spread to other parts of their bodies, including the liver or lungs. Physicians and research scientists are examining the development of the disease among men excluded from other ongoing clinical trials because of the severity of their illnesses.
Cabozantinib inhibits various molecular signals, stemming the spread of cancer by killing tumor cells while blocking their escape pathways. It has been shown in early clinical trials to have an effect on men with the metastatic form of prostate cancer - both before and after chemotherapy - by reducing pain and improving bone scans.
Cancer researchers believe the new clinical trial of the drug offers an opportunity to make important scientific discoveries for treating the severest forms of prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death among American men and a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide.
"Given the results of previous clinical trials, these patients represent a population that could benefit from the therapy," said Edwin M. Posadas, MD, medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and the lead investigator of the new study.
The Cedars-Sinai clinical trial will involve up to 40 adult patients who will all receive cabozantinib. During the first three cycles, patients will be evaluated twice per month so that doctors can adjust dosages. Participants will undergo imaging tests every two months to track their cancers. Patients can continue treatment for as long as they are receiving a benefit.
The FDA-approved clinical trial will allow physicians and scientists to focus on a blood- and tissue-based analysis of disease markers that will provide insight into how cabozantinib (XL184) works in patients with this specific type of cancer and other cancers as well.
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