NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 7, 2016 ---
Hoag Family Cancer Institute is expanding its already ambitious comprehensive program to offer exclusive
investigational clinical trials for patients in Orange County.
While it is rare for a community hospital to participate in early stage
clinical trials, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has long strived
to offer the community the very latest in cancer therapies, allowing them
to stay close to home for their care.
Through Hoag’s alliance with USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center,
a National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive cancer center, the
hospital has launched the Developmental Therapeutics Program and established a
joint phase clinical trials program with USC Norris. The first joint phase I clinical trial testing a new
drug for patients with advanced solid tumors was launched in May of 2016.
It is the start of what Hoag anticipates will be a new era of research
that will provide Orange County residents with the full spectrum of care
close to home.
“Millions of lives have been saved by the scientific progress that
clinical trials afford,” said
Burton Eisenberg, M.D., Executive Medical Director of Hoag Family Cancer Institute, Grace E.
Hoag Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair and Professor of Clinical
Surgery for Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Through our collaborative
alliance with USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hoag is able to
fulfill its quest to advance medicine and improve our patient’s
lives for generations to come.”
“A phase I trial is essentially an early drug development program
that is limited in scope to individuals with advanced cancer who have
exhausted other avenues of treatment,” said Anthony El-Khoueiry,
M.D., phase I program director for USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“Usually, these are the patients who have had to travel out of the
county – or even the country – to receive care. Through this
alliance, Hoag and USC Norris have worked tirelessly to provide these
early stage trials for Orange County patients in need.”
Clinical trials allow the scientific and medical community to translate
an idea into a therapy that could potentially cure a patient, prevent
disease or improve the quality of life of people across the globe. Usually
these trials take place in large academic centers, limiting access to
these leading edge medicines and techniques only to those who live nearby
or are healthy enough to continuously make the drive.
This initial trial will study the side effects and best dose of EphB4-HSA,
a drug researchers hope will prevent the growth of tumor cells when given
in combination with standard chemotherapy drugs for patients with advanced
pancreatic, biliary,
head and neck and non-small cell lung cancer.
The trial will only be available at Hoag and USC Norris.
“This is a unique opportunity for our entire community,” said
Dr. Eisenberg. “We are extremely excited to be able to expand what
we can offer patients in Orange County, working closely with our alliance
partners at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and to take our place
on the frontlines in the advancement of cancer medicine.”
For more information about the trial:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02495896?term=Ephb4&rank=2
ABOUT HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN
Hoag is an approximately $1 billion nonprofit, regional health care delivery
network in Orange County, California, that treats more than 25,000 inpatients
and 369,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals
– Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which opened in 1952, and Hoag Hospital
Irvine, which opened in 2010 – in addition to six health centers
and nine urgent care centers. Hoag is a designated Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers
a comprehensive blend of health care services that includes five institutes
providing specialized services in the following areas:
cancer,
heart and vascular,
neurosciences,
women’s health, and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate,
Hoag Orthopedic Institute, which consists of an orthopedic hospital and two ambulatory surgical
centers. In 2013, Hoag entered into an alliance with St. Joseph Health
to further expand health care services in the Orange County community,
known as St. Joseph Hoag Health. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional
Hospitals in the
U.S. News & World Report Metro Edition, andBecker’s Hospital Review named Hoag as one of the 2016 “100 Great Hospitals in America”
– a designation Hoag has received four times. National Research
Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s most preferred
hospital for the past 20 consecutive years and, for an unprecedented 20
years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as one of the county’s
best hospitals in a local newspaper survey. Visit
www.hoag.org for more information.
ABOUT USC NORRIS COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has been leading the fight to make
cancer a disease of the past. As one of the eight original comprehensive
cancer centers in the United States, its mission is to treat and prevent
cancer by advancing and integrating education, research, and personalized
patient care. For over 40 years, USC Norris has been revolutionizing cancer
research with innovative surgical techniques and novel cancer treatments.
The cancer center's breakthroughs and discoveries in the field of
epigenetics have led the way to a greater understanding of the underlying
causes of cancer and new methods of prevention, detection, and treatment.
With a multidisciplinary team of more than 250 dedicated scientists and
physicians, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center offers patients hope
in the battle against cancer.For more information, visit uscnorriscancer.usc.edu.
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To view the official press release, please click
here.