Colorectal Cancer Trial Being Conducted at MRH
| Date Posted: 3/13/2013 | Author: Mandy McCue
PINEHURST – Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer found in men and women in the United States. According to estimates from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), there will be 102,480 new cases in the U.S. this year.
The Clinical Trials office is participating in a polyp prevention study available for people who have been recently treated for colon cancer. Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the study evaluates the cholesterol drug Rosuvastatin (Crestor) as a treatment to reduce colon cancer risk. Rosuvastatin is a statin, a class of drugs that lowers cholesterol.
The prevention study, titled “P-5: Statin Polyp Prevention Trial in Patients with Resected Colon Cancer,” is being conducted by the NSABP, which is a network of cancer research professionals. People recently diagnosed or treated for Stage 0, I, II or III colon cancer and interested in the Moore Regional study should call the Clinical Trials office at (910) 715-2200.
Since its beginning more than 50 years ago, NSABP has enrolled more than 140,000 women and men in clinical trials in breast and colorectal cancer. More than 5,000 physicians, nurses and other medical professionals conduct NSABP treatment and prevention studies at research sites at major medical centers, university hospitals, large oncology practice groups and health maintenance organizations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia and Ireland.
More than 400 medical centers located throughout North America are enrolling patients in the Statin Polyp Prevention Trial. It was developed because laboratory research and studies conducted in large populations of patients taking a statin to reduce cholesterol suggest that the drug may also decrease the number of colon polyps, which can lead to colon cancer, if left untreated.
More than 300 patients have already entered the current study that will eventually involve 1,740 patients who have been treated for early stage colon cancer and who were not already taking statins for high cholesterol. Patients will be randomly assigned to one of two groups, and each group will take one pill a day for five years.
One group will receive Rosuvastatin, while the other group will receive a placebo.
The Southeast Cancer Control Consortium (SCCC) is a group of community oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists and urologists located in the southeastern United States who are committed to bringing cancer clinical trials to their communities. The clinical research department at FirstHealth works closely with SCCC to bring clinical trials to patients at FirstHealth.
FirstHealth research treatment opportunities are provided through support from the Reid Research Center. For more information on this clinical trial and other clinical trials available , call (910) 715-2200 or visit FirstHealth’s clinical trials website at www.firsthealth.org/clinicaltrials.
