Frederick, Md., Hospital Gets Grant for Cancer Clinical Trials
By Ashley Andyshak, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
Aug. 2–Frederick Memorial Hospital Regional Cancer Therapy Center has received a $30,000 grant to improve its clinical research programs.
The cancer center is one of three facilities in the nation to receive the newly established Community Oncology Research Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. P. Gregory Rausch of Oncology Care Associates said the money will be used to increase awareness of trials available in the area, help staff become certified by the Association of Clinical Research Professionals, and develop a patient database.
The center oversees 35 clinical trials, with about 50 patients in active drug therapies and about 200 in follow-up phases, said clinical trials coordinator Shelley Francella.
One trial is studying two drugs used to treat metastatic kidney cancer, and a Middletown man who beat the cancer earlier this year is hoping his involvement will help himself and others.
John Handiboe’s kidney cancer was detected in its earliest stages, so surgeons were able to remove the entire tumor along with the affected kidney during surgery in April. His cancer is now in remission, but there’s a 5 percent chance the disease could come back, he said. Through a clinical trial, researchers are hoping to discover if chemotherapy drugs Nexavar and Sutent, typically used to treat late-stage kidney cancers, can prevent cancer recurrence in patients like Handiboe.
Handiboe began the trial a month ago. While he takes the two different pills as prescribed, he doesn’t know exactly what he’s taking.
The study is a double-blind random trial, meaning participants are given two pills but they’re not told if they’re both drugs, a drug and a placebo, or two placebos. Handiboe said he’s noticed some hoarseness and dry skin since starting the trial, both of which are mild side effects of the drugs, so he believes at least one pill isn’t a placebo.
Handiboe said he took several weeks to decide if he wanted to participate in the trial. He researched the drugs online and perused the more than three pages of potential side effects, which include heart problems and hypertension.
“I was between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “I looked at the side effects, and I was scared, but I wanted to reduce the chance of a recurrence. And it’s not only for me, this could help other people, too.”
Handiboe has regular heart exams and blood pressure screenings, and will undergo a CT scan every four months while taking the pills. Once he finishes the year-long trial, he’ll continue regular CT scans and blood work for nine years to see if his cancer returns or if he has any long-term side effects from the drugs.
Clinical trial participants aren’t compensated, but Handiboe said the possibility of reducing his risk of cancer recurrence and helping others is enough for him. He said he and his wife Kathleen are “two of the luckiest people you’ll ever meet,” as they are both cancer survivors. Kathleen Handiboe was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 but is now also in remission.
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