Clinical Trials Available at SCCA

Every advance in cancer treatment in recent years has come as the result of a clinical trial. The following lung cancer clinical trials are now open through SCCA or its parent organizations, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Medicine. This list represents only a few of the trials open currently. For a complete list, please visit www.seattlecca.org

Study Number: 6137
Principal Investigator: Renato Martins, MD, MPH

This is a Phase II Study of Intermittent Gleevec® (Imatinib mesylate) and Weekly Paclitaxel in Patients Aged 70 or Older with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The purpose of this study is to determine whether weekly Gleevec® together with Taxol® is safe and effective for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer in elderly persons. Treatment with Gleevec® and Taxol® may last up to 6 months. Participants will receive treatment at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) outpatient clinic. Eligibile patients are men and women at least 70 years old with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Conditions that would prevent a volunteer from participating in this study are prior chemotherapy treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.

Study Number: 6228
Principal Investigator: Renato Martins, MD, MPH

Early Positron Emission Tomography as a Predictor of Response in Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

In this study, patients will receive chemotherapy with Alimta and cisplatin to treat their non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One of the purposes of this study is to treat patients with chemotherapy before they have surgery and see if it helps them live longer. The main purpose of this study is to see if a PET scan done early in chemotherapy can be used to predict how well people respond to chemotherapy before they have surgery.

Most of the care will be given at the SCCA outpatient clinic. The PET scans will be done at the UW Medical Center. If hospitalization is needed while in Seattle, participants will be admitted to the UW Medical Center.

Patients will receive up to 3 cycles of chemotherapy. Each cycle lasts 3 weeks. It is expected that participation should last approximately 12 weeks.

Before starting chemotherapy participants will have a physical exam, review of their medical history, blood tests, CT scans and a PET scan. Participants will take a folic acid vitamin pill or a multivitamin every day throughout the study and receive vitamin B12 injections every 9 weeks. A physical exam and blood tests will be done before each cycle of chemotherapy. The PET scan will be repeated after one cycle of chemotherapy. After all three cycles of chemotherapy are completed, participants will have a third PET scan, CT scans, a physical exam and blood tests. After chemotherapy treatment has been completed, the study staff will contact the participants or their doctor every three months to check on the patient’s medical condition and update health information. This will continue for the life of the participant.

Eligible patients are male or female 18 years of age or older with a diagnosis of early stage NSCLC that can be treated with surgery and no prior systemic chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer. Men and women of childbearing age willing to use approved birth control method during and for three months after the study. Conditions that would prevent a volunteer from participating in this study include having received treatment with any experimental drug within the last 30 days; an inability or unwillingness to take corticosteroids, vitamin B12, or folic acid; cannot stop taking aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) for a 5 to 8-day period; have Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus; are pregnant or breast-feeding; have a medical or physical condition or other issues that would prevent completion of study.

Study Number 6351:
Principal Investigator: Laurie Carr, MD,

A Phase II Study Evaluating a Maintenance Strategy of Gleevec® (Imatinib Mesylate) and Bevacizumab in Patients with Advanced, Non-Squamous, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Following Completion of First-Line Chemotherapy with Bevacizumab

This is a phase II trial studying how well giving imatinib mesylate together with bevacizumab after first-line chemotherapy and bevacizumab works in treating patients with stage IIIB or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.

Eligible patients are men and women 18 years and older with histologically or cytologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer; Stage IIIB (by pleural effusion only) or stage IV disease; and no predominately squamous cell carcinoma. Mixed tumors will be categorized by predominant cell type; must have completed four courses of platinum-based, doublet chemotherapy and bevacizumab*, have no disease progression or brain metastases by brain MRI or head CT scan, and meets other criteria (found on www.clinicaltrials.gov site).

More information

For more information about enrolling your patients in these or other clinical trials through Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, call the Intake Office at 206-288-(SCCA)7222 or 1-800-804-8824.

February 2008