The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Research Program (ORP) announces plans to develop a program to scientifically evaluate and facilitate clinical trials on the efficacy of trifluridine and tipiracil chemotherapy. The project will focus on colorectal and gastric cancers, though not exclusively. The research funding comes from a $2-million grant from Taiho Oncology.
"This grant gives researchers at NCCN Member Institutions a great opportunity to lead investigator-initiated studies into the effectiveness of this treatment combination for people with various metastatic cancers," said Susan Most, RN, MBA, Director, Clinical Operations, NCCN ORP. "Our scientifically structured peer-reviewed systems allow us to collaborate with some of the top researchers in oncology in order to advance our collective understanding of how to provide the safest, most patient-centric courses of treatment."
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"We are proud to support NCCN ORP research as it is an important means to add to our knowledge of trifluridine/tipiracil in metastatic cancer care," said Martin Birkhofer, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Taiho Oncology. "This grant is illustrative of our commitment to positively impact the lives of patients living with colorectal, gastric and other advanced cancers."
The combination of trifluridine, a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor, and tipiracil, a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor, is used to treat people with colon or rectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and who have previously been treated with or cannot receive certain chemotherapy medicines.
The first phase of this research project will involve the creation of a Request for Proposals Development Team to evaluate existing data and define the types of studies needed to further explore the safety and clinical effectiveness of trifluridine and tipiracil. The Request for Proposals is scheduled to go out in the fourth quarter of 2018.