New Cancer Study Targets The Disease, Not The Body
by Lynne Adkins
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A local cancer center is taking part in a new study which targets the disease, not the body part.
The TAPUR Study gives patients who have run out of most options a chance for treatment, according to Dr. Pamela Crilley, Chair of Medical Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
She says participants will have tumors identified, then if the breast cancer actually is more like a disease from another body part, it will be treated as that different type of cancer.
"I believe we're going to find out how efficacious some of these targeted agents are for patients who may not have any other options. We're going to find out what some of the side effects might be, and I think we're going to learn a lot about the biology of the diseases and potentially treat more patients in a new way than we have before," Crilley said.
She expects information from the study to emerge quickly.