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Jefrey Crawford, MD, chief of medical oncology and principal investigator for clinical trials at Duke Medicine, third from left, discusses lung cancer trials with BMH physicians, from left, Brad Collins, MD, pathologist; Majd Chahin, MD, oncologist; and Peter Manos, MD, pulmonologist.

survival used to be weeks. Now it’s a year or more. It’s a horrible disease with poor outcomes.”

Under today’s standard of care, a patient will stay on chemotherapy drugs until the efect of the medication has been maximized. When the cancer begins to grow back, a second round of chemo can be administered, but there is usually a decrease in the response.

“Anything we can do to extend the efect of the chemo and keep the tumor in check is an improvement,” says Peter Manos, MD, a pulmonary disease/critical care special-ist at BMH. “We’re hoping the Sunitinib will prolong the remission of the cancer.” Te two targeted therapy studies—now in their third phase of trials—are open to patients with small-cell lung cancer or advanced stage IIIB or IV non-small-cell lung cancer who have shown improve-ment after receiving chemotherapy. Patients must also meet other eligibility requirements to participate in the testing. “Clinical trials are the only way we have to advance the feld of cancer,” says BMH oncologist Majd Chahin, MD, principal investigator for BMH’s clinical

trials program. “Patients are motivated to participate in these trials because the ac-cepted standard of care is not very good.” Approximately 250 patients will be enrolled in each of the two lung cancer trials. To properly evaluate the efect of the targeted therapy, a random number of those patients will be given a placebo rather than Sunitinib.

Te two clinical trials are among several now being ofered at Beaufort Memorial. Te others include breast, co-lon and rectal cancer studies.

In an audit conducted recently by the CALGB, BMH’s clinical trials program was rated “acceptable” in all three catego-ries covering regulatory, pharmaceutical and patient care standards. It was BMH’s frst audit since joining the clinical trials program more than three years ago. “As the cancer center overseeing their program, it’s reassuring to us that they are following all the required protocols and federal regulatory guidelines,” Dr. Crawford says. “We’re thrilled they did so well.”

If you’re eligible to participate in a clinical trial, you decide for yourself whether you want to be involved. Once enrolled, you can withdraw at any time. If you do participate, you may be among the frst to receive potentially promising new treatments. “We know that this program not only benefts local patients, but also helps advance the future of cancer care for every-one,” says Beaufort Memorial Keyserling Cancer Center Director Connie Duke, RN, OCN. To learn more about these trials, call Beaufort Memorial Keyserling Cancer Center Clinical Research Nurse Ruth Finch, RN, OCN, CCRP, at