Cancer patients encouraged to take active role in treatment

By Suzanne Laurent
Staff writer

July 01, 2008 07:00 am

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LONDONDERRY — Patients can take an active role in the advancement of cancer treatment by participating in clinical research trials.

That was the message given to about 100 attendees at a "Let's Talk" public education forum hosted by New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the Elliot Medical Center in Londonderry June 26.

"The future is here," said Dr. George Demetri, director of the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology at Dana-Farber and the director of the Ludwig Center at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

"We are at a point where we can decode the mechanisms that cause cancers in certain cells," Demetri said.

"And now we can design a new drug — or smart drug — to block the mechanisms."

Demetri said that the old way of administering cancer drugs was "guesswork."

"We'd see if something worked," he said.

"Now we are searching for the critical switch to shut off the cancer growth in molecular cells, while leaving the normal cells alone."

But, Demetri said, it's only through clinical research that scientists are able to identify these cells.

"In 2000, we began testing drugs to be given in pill form that could shut the disease off," Demetri said. "Imagine taking one pill a day that does not make you sick. This is just the start of this."

Demetri explained that through research, scientists can define what works for which patients and for which specific form of cancer.

"We can now bring this research to Londonderry," Demetri said.

With the partnership of N.H. Oncology-Hematology and Dana-Farber scheduled to open an adult cancer care clinic in Londonderry in December, patients will not have to travel to Boston to take part in clinical research trials.

Dr. Douglas Weckstein of N.H. Oncology-Hematology said that the old way of treating cancer with chemotherapy can be very toxic to the patient.

"The future way is targeted treatment," he said.

"But we don't know yet how to use the targeted drugs. The questions are which cancers, which patents, what doses and how to combine the drugs. Research is so important to find out who a certain drug will work on."

A couple of audience members asked about the placebo factor in these trials.

"The FDA is charged with proving drugs are safe and effective," Demetri responded.

"It is research."

But Demetri said the Food and Drug Administration also approved giving the actual drug if the patients receiving the placebo showed tumor growth on carefully monitored testing when the other group receiving the drug showed improvement.

"Ninety-six percent of the studies done at Dana-Farber are not placebo-controlled, however," Demetri said.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Fred Briccetti of N.H. Oncology-Hematology said that patients need not wait until the Londonderry facility is open in December to inquire about being in clinical trials, but can visit one of the group's five established offices. The group has been working with Dana-Farber for more than 25 years.