Cancer
The Cancer Research Program is a Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF) designated research program. MMRF cancer research supports and collaborates with numerous local and national organizations to study the most applicable, pertinent, and cutting edge drugs, strategies, and therapies. MMRF's Cancer Research Program is also an affiliate member of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Program (NSABP), which is a National Cancer Institute funded cooperative group of institutions nationwide whose mission is to study treatment and prevention of breast and colorectal cancer.
For more information on the following studies, please contact Carol Sojos Schmidt, 612 873 5911.
Breast Cancer Treatment
NSABP B-41 – (Open for enrollment) A Randomized Phase III Trial of Neoadjuvant for Patients with Palpable and Operable HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Comparing the Combination of Trastuzumab Plus Lapatanib to Trastuzumab and to Lapatinib Administered with Weekly Paclitaxel Following AC Accompanied by Correlative Science Studies to Identify Predictors of Pathologic Complete Response. Recent study results have shown that trastuzumab can reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer coming back in certain types of breast cancer called HER2-Positive. Lapatinib has shown promise to be at least as effective as trastuzumab in treating this type of breast cancer. This study will compare the two drugs head to head as well as in combination to discover which one will treat this aggressive type of cancer better.
NSABP B-43 – (Open for enrollment) A Phase III Clinical Trial Comparing Trastuzumab Given Concurrently with Radiation Therapy and Radiation Therapy Alone for Women with HER2-Positive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) Resected by Lumpectomy. Trastuzumab has been proven to be effective in treating HER2-Positive invasive breast cancer. Preclinical studies have shown that trastuzumab boosts the effectiveness of radiation, and B-43 will determine if invasive or DCIS disease-free survival, recurrence-free interval, and overall survival can be improved with the addition of trastuzumab to radiation therapy.
NSABP B-46 – (Open for enrollment) A Phase III Clinical Trial Comparing the Combination of Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide (TC) Plus Bevacizumab to TC Alone and to Docetaxel, Doxorubicin, and Cyclophosphamide (TAC) for Women with Node-Positive or High-Risk Node-Negative, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer. Anthracyclines (like doxorubicin) are used extensively in breast cancer, but carry a low but problematic risk of serious long-term toxicities such as congestive heart failure and leukemia. The combination of docetaxel and cyclophosphamide alone has been shown to be effective in treating early breast cancer. A comparison of the two regimens is needed to establish whether anthracyclines are necessary in the treatment of early breast cancer. There remains a need to evaluate new therapies in the adjuvant setting as well, particularly when benefit has been demonstrated in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Bevacizumab, which has been approved for treatment of metastatic breast cancer, will also be evaluated in this study for effectiveness in disease-free survival.
Colon Cancer Treatment
NSABP P-5 – (Open for enrollment) Statin Polyp Prevention Trial in Patients with Resected Colon Cancer. Pre-clinical and epidemiological studies indicate that statin drugs have preventive activity against colon cancer. While these data have generally been derived from patients in the general population who developed sporadic colon cancer, less is known about the effect of these agents in populations at increased risk for colorectal cancer. This Phase III randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study will evaluate the effectiveness of rosuvastatin in preventing the occurrence of adenomatous polyps of the colon or rectum and colon cancer recurrence among colon cancer patients treated for cure.
Rectal Cancer Treatment
NSABP R-04 – (Open for enrollment) A Clinical Trial Comparing Preoperative Radiation Therapy and Capecitabine with or without Oxaliplatin with Preoperative Radiation Therapy and Continuous Intravenous Infusion of 5-Fluorouracil with or without Oxaliplatin in the Treatment of Patients with Operable Carcinoma of the Rectum. A new study in rectal cancer will compare the effects of an oral chemotherapy drug, capecitabine, to the standard chemotherapy drug given in the vein. Capecitabine works actively against rectal cancer and the study would like to show which therapy is more effective or which therapy is better tolerated. The chemotherapy will be given with radiation therapy before the participant has surgery to remove their cancer. Patients will be split equally between each treatment and assignment is by chance.
Other Treatments
Other research projects are available through association with outside cooperative groups.
