Benefits of cancer research: The MemorialCare Research Program gives patients access to cutting-edge therapies
A diagnosis of cancer is never welcome. The good news is that treatment methods and the odds of long-term survival improve every day.
“That’s because of research,” said Amol Rao, M.D., oncologist and the MemorialCare Medical Director of Cancer Research.
All of the current advances in oncology are due to the study of promising therapies in clinical trials. New studies are important to keep advancing the field and are conducted by cancer specialty teams.
“Our patients have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials at all three MemorialCare hospitals. This gives them access to advanced medical oncology, radiation oncology and diagnostic techniques usually not available outside of university hospitals,” Dr. Rao said.
Research is aimed at discovering therapies that will improve outcomes, safety and quality of life. In these studies, physicians hope to elevate the standard of care for both curable and metastatic cancers.
The Research Program at MemorialCare focuses on many types of cancer, including tumors of the breast, lung and prostate, the doctor said. Patients are screened and tested on a molecular level to customize cancer treatments. The trials include targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and the use of previously approved treatments in new ways and for new indications.
One exciting breast cancer trial at MemorialCare studies the effects of a drug, Enhertu, currently approved for patients with metastatic HER2+ breast cancer. Metastatic cancer (Stage 4 cancer) means the cancer cells have grown and spread throughout the body, which makes it incurable. Enhertu can stop the cancer from growing and prolong a patient’s life.
“The effect is so compelling in patients with late-stage disease, why not use it in earlier stages?” Dr. Rao said. “This is a promising new treatment and could mean an improvement in cure rates. It has the potential to be a practice-changing therapy.”
Clinical trials are also developing more targeted therapies that can shrink tumors while sparing healthy tissue, which means some cancer patients could avoid surgery or the significant side effects of chemotherapy.
“In many cases, we now consider chemotherapy as the last approach to treating breast cancer, rather than the first approach,” the doctor said.
Another area of study is the rapid advancement of immunotherapy, in which proteins are injected or infused into the body to stimulate the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
“The body is primed to fight tumors, but cancer cells have learned to cloak themselves, to be undetected by the immune system,” Dr. Rao said. “Our approach takes the brakes off so the immune system can do its job.”
Success in clinical trials depends on having enough eligible patients participating. The doctor said some people are reluctant to be part of something called a “trial.”
“It is important that patients understand that the drugs being studied are not experimental and that the patients are not guinea pigs,” the doctor said. “These treatments have been studied in prior clinical trials for safety and effectiveness. If a patient is eligible for a study, the patient’s treatment team will explain the risks and benefits of and the rationale for participation.”
Clinical trials give patients access to exciting new therapies that may improve the course of their disease and advance future cancer treatments.