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.