Focused on the patient - Baylor Health Care System

<strong>Focused</strong> on innovation 35Cancer research studies on the Baylor Dallas campusare conducted through Baylor Research Institute, MaryCrowley Medical Research Center, Texas Oncology,and US Oncology. In 2007, 267 oncology researchtrials were active at Baylor Dallas (see Table). Of those,68 were conducted through Baylor Research Institute,including 16 new studies approved in 2007. US Oncologyat Baylor Sammons more than doubled their accrualsfrom 2006 (138) to 2007 (256), and finished 2007 as thetop accruing location/site for the entire network.New Drugs in Kidney Cancerby Thomas E. Hutson, DO, PharmDBetween December 2005 and May 2007, the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) approved three drugs that have been shownin clinical trials to improve progression-free survival in patients withrenal cell carcinoma. Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center atDallas was instrumental in bringing these drugs to patients throughcancer research trials managed by Texas Oncology. Thomas Hutson,DO, PharmD, an oncologist on the medical staff at Baylor Dallas,participated as a lead investigator on the phase III internationalclinical trials that led to the FDA approval of sorafenib and sunitiniband most recently temsirolimus.“Sutent ® (sunitinib), Nexavar ® (sorafenib), and Torisel (temsirolimus)have improved clinical outcomes in randomized trials,” said Dr.Hutson. “These are the first new drugs approved for treatment ofadvanced renal cell cancer in almost two decades.”For years, the standard treatment for advanced kidney cancer wasinterferon, which is effective in only about 15% of patients andcauses flulike side effects, decreasing quality of life. There was noalternative—until now.TableOncology research studies offered throughBaylor Sammons Cancer Center in 2007Disease AreaResearch StudiesAdvanced carcinoma 4Bladder cancer 2Brain cancer 5Breast cancer 31Colon cancer 13Colorectal cancer 5Fallopian tube cancer 1General 10Head and neck cancer 6Hematologic malignancies 26Kidney cancer 9Leukemia 2Liver cancer 2Lung cancer 40Lymphoma 17Melanoma 39Myeloma 6Ovarian cancer 13Pancreatic cancer 19Prostate cancer 17Total 267Temsirolimus is a first-in-class drug and operates as an inhibitor of mTOR, or the mammaliantarget of rapamycin, which regulates cell growth and nutrition. Sorafenib and sunitinib differin that they target and inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growthfactor, factors that tumor cells need to grow. These targeted therapies don’t have the side