Cancer Clinical Trials Office Blog

Last night’s broadcast on KTVU featured an interview with Dr. Miklos about a new immunotherapy drug, Yescarta. KGO TV also interviewed Dr. Miklos and Dr. Mackall as well as two patients who contributed moving stories about their experience with Yescarta. The KTVU segment can be viewed below.

Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) is a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, and is the second gene therapy approved by the FDA and the first for certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). More information can be found on the FDA’s press release.

For the next year Stanford will be the only cancer center providing Yescarta in northern California, and one of only three treatment centers on the west coast (the others are Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle WA; and City of Hope, Duarte, CA). Many thanks to the Cancer Cell Therapy team and Dr. Miklos for their work on the Kite Pharma trials studying this drug.

On September 28, 2017, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Verzenio (abemaciclib) to treat adult patients who have hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after taking therapy that alters a patient’s hormones (endocrine therapy). Many thanks to the Breast Group for their hard work on BRS0044, a Phase 3 Eli Lilly trial that studied this drug. More information can be found on the FDA’s press release.

The following video about Dr. Kunz’s newly-opened gastric cancer trial was posted recently to Stanford Medicine’s Scope blog. This study was funded by a gift from Jeff Shottenstein, who wanted other gastric cancer patients to have the option of a new innovative treatment despite the fact that his wife wouldn’t benefit. Click play for Jeff’s moving story about his wife Sara.