The University of Colorado Cancer Center is leading the way in the development of a new endometrial cancer clinical trial that may lead to practice-changing therapies in the future. Bradley Corr smilingBradley Corr, MD
"We are excited to be one of the first cancer centers in the nation to offer this therapy to our patients," says Bradley Corr, MD, assistant professor on the gynecologic oncology team at the CU Cancer Center.
Corr developed this trial in collaboration with Clovis Oncology. CU Cancer Center will be the primary site, Additionally, this trial will be nationally enrolling patients at two other institutions; The University of Pennsylvania and Fox Chase Cancer Center.
"The Phase II clinical trial aims to determine the effectiveness of the anti-cancer drug Rucaparib as maintenance therapy for patients with metastatic or recurrent endometrial cancer that have been treated initially with chemotherapy," explains Corr. "Very basically, Rucaparib, a PARP inhibitor, works by stopping cancer cells from repairing their DNA appropriately. Cancer cells can hijack the body's system to repair their own DNA, which allows them to multiply. Without the ability to repair damaged DNA, the cancer cells eventually die. Rucaparib is an FDA- approved oral drug used in other cancer types and has been well studied."
Currently PARP inhibitors are utilized mostly in BRCA ovarian cancer patients, with outstanding sucess. However, preclinical data has demonstrated that patients with a PTEN deficiency may respond to PARP inhibitors as if they had a BRCA mutation. The PTEN mutation is found in over 80% of endometrial cancer. This trial will be one of the first to use this drug class in endometrial cancer.
"I believe that this clinical trial could be the foundation step to practice-changing therapy," says Corr. "There are currently no approved maintenance therapies in endometrial cancer, and if this trial demonstrates similar success rate to what we have seen in ovarian cancer, I believe this drug class could become a part of standard care for some patients."
This clinical trial is currently enrolling patients. For more information please contact Brandi Welker, the nurse navigator for Gynecologic Oncology at the CU Cancer Center.
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Phone: 720-848-9302
Email: brandi.welker@uchealth.org
Changing the game in gynecologic cancer care
The CU Cancer Center's Gynecologic Oncology team is the largest board-certified gynecologic oncology team in Colorado. With access to an intensive care unit, cutting-edge equipment and facilities, as well as multiple teams of subspecialists in female health, the team can address even the most complex cases.
For more information about the Gynecologic Oncology team check out their website.