Georgia Cancer Specialists (GCS) is the first and only oncology practice in Georgia to offer two early-phase clinical trials looking at the treatments of lung and colorectal cancer using the novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor, EKB-569.
The clinical trial using the pill EKB-569 is designed for patients who have not responded to other treatment options, such as chemotherapy.
“There is a lot of exciting potential for this new agent,” said GCS Director of Research, Dr. Mansoor Saleh. “This drug may provide an alternative for patients who have failed conventional chemotherapy and exhausted other options.”
EKB-569 works by blocking a cancer-causing enzyme in the HER-1 and HER-2 receptor pathway. It is the enzyme’s stimulation of this pathway that causes tumor growth for a variety of cancers, including lung and colorectal. Researchers hope to demonstrate that, by blocking the enzyme, the drug inhibits tumor growth.
Dr. Saleh said GCS is making both trials available to qualified patients.
The pharmaceutical company Wyeth is the maker of the drug.
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