The approved lung cancer drug pemetrexed is at the center of a new clinical trial at Providence Saint John’s Health Center’s Pacific Brain Tumor Center for patients diagnosed with chordoma, a rare, slow-growing cancer found in the bones at the base of the skull and the spine that is difficult to treat.
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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The approved lung cancer drug pemetrexed is at the center of a new clinical trial at Providence Saint John's Health Center's Pacific Brain Tumor Center for patients diagnosed with chordoma, a rare, slow-growing cancer found in the bones at the base of the skull and the spine that is difficult to treat. Two chordoma patients who received the drug – approved by the FDA for lung cancer only – showed promising results with reductions in the sizes of their tumors. Chordoma is an extremely rare cancer, diagnosed in just one in 1 million people per year, and can affect individuals of all ages. The standard of care is surgery and/or radiation, but tumors tend to recur after treatment and it also can spread or metastasize to other parts in the body. There are currently no approved drugs for the treatment of chordoma, which is why clinical trials that test promising new therapies are important. Santosh Kesari, M.D., Ph.D., the principal investigator of the trial, is now recruiting chordoma patients who will be administered pemetrexed intravenously every three weeks. Pemetrexed typically is prescribed to lung cancer patients as part of a maintenance plan following initial treatment. Dr. Kesari, director of neuro-oncology at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, found through molecular profiling there is a certain protein that may be able to predict response to pemetrexed treatment. "We have discovered a biomarker in chordoma samples that correlated with response in chordoma patients treated with pemetrexed," said Dr. Kesari. "To date, two of two patients treated with pemetrexed had dramatic shrinkages of metastatic chordoma tumors. We are excited to be partnering with Eli Lilly and the Chordoma Foundation to bring this new approach to the clinic." The Pacific Brain Tumor Center is partnering with the Chordoma Foundation, an advocacy group which, among other services, supports well-justified clinical trials. "Historically, treatment options for patients with residual, recurrent, or advanced chordoma have been limited and inadequate," said Josh Sommer, co-founder and executive director of the Chordoma Foundation. "The pemetrexed trial is a promising step forward in identifying more effective treatments for chordoma patients." Eli Lilly and Company, the maker of pemetrexed, is providing the drug and funding for the study. The trial opened in September and will enroll up to 15 patients. Positive results may spur the expansion of the trial beyond the single location in Santa Monica. "By building upon important clinical observations and applying discoveries from laboratory research, we hope to learn more about a potential new strategy to improve outcomes for patients with chordoma," said Tiffany Juarez, Ph.D., program manager for translational research. Trial Enrollment About Pacific Brain Tumor Center About Providence St. Joseph Health Media contact:
SOURCE Pacific Neuroscience Institute |
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