Clinical Trial Shows Use of Drug During Chemotherapy Reduces Nausea and Vomiting
Heartland Cancer Research NCORP/Illinois CancerCare Participates in a Clinical Trial Published in New England Journal of Medicine Showing Use of Drug During Chemotherapy Reduces Nausea and Vomiting
Peoria, IL July 25, 2016 – The Illinois CancerCare component of the Heartland Cancer Research NCORP is proud to announce results from a recent clinical trial for treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). The results, just published in the July 14, 2016 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that 86% of the patients receiving chemotherapy known to cause high levels of nausea tolerated the treatment considerably better with the addition of a drug originally developed to treat mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This drug has been found to target multiple key receptors associated with nausea and vomiting.
“CINV is very debilitating and can reduce the quality of life for many cancer patients. Despite treatments given to prevent nausea and vomiting, there is a high percentage of patients that still experience these side effects,” states Madhuri Bajaj, MD, Physician Director of Clinical Trials Research at Illinois CancerCare and contributing author of this study. “This clinical trial establishes this additional drug as an effective, safe and inexpensive treatment option for patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. In our current era of immunotherapy based cancer treatments where steroids ought to be avoided, this drug has a place as an effective treatment for CINV. Due to the findings of this major clinical trial, the addition of this drug is expected to become a standard of care option now for the treatment of CINV. We are excited to have been able to conduct such ground-breaking research at Illinois CancerCare.”
Illinois CancerCare participated in this research program as part of Heartland Cancer Research NCI Community Oncology Research Program (Heartland NCORP) which enrolled nearly 20% of the patients in this national study. Illinois CancerCare was the top accruing site for Heartland NCORP, enrolling over 46% of the Heartland NCORP patients.
“Research is an important tool for us as it allows us to find new modalities in the treatment for all forms of cancer and cancer-related conditions. Our affiliation with Heartland NCORP helps expand our reach in research,” states Jamie Harper, Director of Research and Clinical Support Services, Illinois CancerCare.
Heartland NCORP is comprised of three nationally recognized community cancer programs located in Peoria, IL, Decatur, IL and St. Louis, MO. This affiliation allows Illinois CancerCare to participate in National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported cancer clinical trials to patients in 124 counties of Illinois, Missouri and parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, exceeding a population of 7 million.
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