Clinical trials for rare cancer treatments, explained
BEAVERTON, OREGON – APRIL 25, 2014 – Nathalie Traller, a freshman at Sunset High School, has been diagnosed with Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. There is no known successful treatment of the disease, so the Trallers are asking drug companies to bend the rules and allow Nathalie into clinical trials for a new drug that could help her. (Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)
Beaverton’s Nathalie Traller, 15, is fighting to get into clinical trials for an experimental drug that could treat her rare form of cancer.
Though she’s too young to qualify for most of the clinical trials, she’ll soon turn 16, making her eligible for some of them. However, clinical trial processes can be complicated, and trials for cancer treatments are different than others.
Dr. Brandon Hayes-Lattin, who specializes in adolescent and young adult oncology at OHSU, shed some light on the clinical trial process with these six facts.
MedImmune, the biologics unit of Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca (LON:AZN, STO:AZN), said yesterday that it, together with several leading pharma and diagnostics companies, and institutions had launched a multi-drug clinical study in advanced squamous cell lung cancer.