FACULT Y ACHIE VEMENTS
Stephenson Cancer Center Physician Proposes New Clinical Trial Concept for Ovarian Cancer A gynecologic oncologist at Stephenson Cancer Center recently presented her proposal to the National Cancer Institute to launch and lead a national Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Through a competitive process, Camille Gunderson, M.D., was named a project team member for the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program. Her proposal is to test a combination of two drug therapies in patients whose ovarian cancer has recurred and is resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy. As the leader of a Phase 1 trial, Gunderson would test, for the first time in humans, a novel cancer agent that has already been approved for treatment of breast cancer, in combination with another cancer drug. “In a Phase 1 study, we’re primarily focusing on the safety of the combination of the drugs,” said Gunderson, an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “We’ll also be looking at how effective the combination is, as well as conducting both tumor and blood testing of how the drugs interact and are cleared from the body. This drug combination has already been evaluated in the laboratory and in animal models in multiple cancer types, including ovarian cancer, and holds great scientific rationale for also being effective in humans. In addition, we’ll be looking at whether subgroups of ovarian cancer patients may be more likely to benefit from the treatment than others.” If the trial is approved, Gunderson will serve as the national principal investigator, and the trial will be conducted at a number of cancer centers across the United States, including Stephenson Cancer Center.
Katherine Moxley, M.D.
Stephenson Cancer Center Physician Receives Award from National Cancer Institute
Gynecologic oncologist Katherine Moxley, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is one of only 10 physician-scientists nationwide to receive a leadership award from the National Cancer Institute. This highly competitive honor – the NCI Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award – recognizes Moxley’s efforts to improve the lives of people with cancer through leading NCI-funded clinical trials. The award acknowledges her leadership efforts at the Stephenson as well as with clinical trials collaborators throughout the United States.
Camille Gunderson, M.D.
The award comes with a monetary prize that she will use to develop a comprehensive precision medicine program at the Stephenson Cancer Center. The program will further the investigations of basic and translational scientists across OU and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, specifically studying areas of cancer treatment for which effective drugs are lacking. [ Fa l l / Wi n t e r 2 019 ]
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