MRH Provides Local Access to State-of-the-art-Care through Clinical Trials

PINEHURST – The opportunity to take part in clinical trials is something that most community hospitals are not able to offer their patients.

For nearly 20 years, the clinical trials program has been providing local access to state-of-the-art medicine.

Clinical trials are research opportunities that determine whether new drugs, treatments, devices or approaches are safe and effective. These opportunities, which may also look at disease prevention, are conducted with people who volunteer to participate. Most clinical trials answer specific questions and try to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose or treat a disease.

In the coming months, the clinical trials program at Moore Regional will have three oncology trials available for patients to participate in.

“FirstHealth is excited to offer these research treatment opportunities to not only residents of our region, but also all of North Carolina,” says Chris Miller, administrative director of FirstHealth Community Health Services. “We at FirstHealth strive to bring the best research treatment opportunities to our patients and the fact we can do it in a rural area makes it an even better opportunity to improve these areas of treatment for all of us.”

Current Trials at FirstHealth

• The most recently started trial, COMET-1 XL 184.307, investigates the effectiveness of an FDA approved treatment compared to the standard treatment for men with previously treated prostate cancer that have experienced progression of the disease.To be eligible for the trial, participants must be diagnosed with prostate cancer.“FirstHealth is currently the only site in North Carolina with this particular opportunity available for the treatment of prostate cancer patients,” says Miller.
• The NOLAN trial is investigating treating bone pain in breast cancer patients, with an anti-inflammatory, commercially available treatment or commercially available anti-histamine.Females 18 or older with newly diagnosed, stages one through three breast cancer are eligible for this trial. If you are planning to receive weekly chemotherapy, you can not be considered for participation.
• The ONYX clinical trial is currently investigating a new treatment therapy for patients with multiple myeloma.To be eligible, patients must be 18 or older with multiple myeloma with relapsing or progressive disease at study entry.

Dr. Charles Kuzma, a hematologist and medical oncologist with the FirstHealth Cancer Center, is the principal investigator for each of these trials.

To refer a patient for one of these trials or for more information on patient eligibility, contact the FirstHealth Clinical Trials office at (910) 715-2200.