Research at the OSUCCC – James is heavily devoted to the development of new drugs to treat cancer. Some of these drugs kill cancer cells, some drugs keep cancer cells from growing and still others stimulate the immune system to kill cancer cells.
The anticancer drug research by teams of OSUCCC – James researchers has a variety of goals:
- To better understand how cancer cells work so that drugs can be designed to kill them more effectively and with fewer side effects
- To design new drugs from the ground up and build new drug molecules from scratch
- To build new drugs using parts of existing drugs as a starting point — like building a custom car from an existing chassis
- To develop new anticancer drugs using compounds OSUCCC – James researchers have discovered in tropical plants
Some examples of targeted drug and chemotherapy research at the OSUCCC – James follow.
Leukemia specialists at OSUCCC – James conducted extensive clinical trials and laboratory research on a promising and exciting experimental drug called ibrutinib for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Their work helped earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration for treating CLL.
In addition, OSUCCC – James researchers are developing a series of anticancer peptide vaccines and related cancer cell inhibitors.
AR-12 and AR-42 are two targeted drugs developed by OSUCCC – James researchers that work in unusual ways. AR-12 was in clinical trials testing for lymphoma and certain solid tumors; AR-42 was being evaluated for the treatment of multiple myeloma, chronic leukemia and lymphoma.
Chemotherapy Clinical Trials
For cancer patients, research and clinical trials mean hope.
Clinical trials are research studies designed to test new, innovative ways to prevent, detect, diagnose or treat cancer patients.
The OSUCCC – James has hundreds of open clinical trials at any given time, with some of the world’s latest discoveries available to clinical trial patients right here in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, patients have access to more cancer clinical trials here than at nearly any other hospital in the region and they also have access to some of the most advanced, targeted treatments and drugs available.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during or after starting their individual treatments. They are closely monitored by the OSUCCC – James specialists.
The OSUCCC – James is one of only a few U.S. cancer centers funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct phase I and phase II clinical trials on novel anticancer drugs. These trials go only to centers that demonstrate an exemplary capacity for research and clinical care, the expertise to deliver the latest in treatments, and the infrastructure to interpret and track treatment results.
If you have been diagnosed with cancer and would like a second opinion, or if you would like to speak with a cancer specialist, please call The James Line at 800-293-5066 or 614-293-5066 to make an appointment.