What is a Phase I Clinical Trial?
Phase 1 clinical trials are the first to involve human participants. Almost every cancer treatment offered to patients today has come about because of a clinical trial. This is the first phase 1 cancer clinical trial at UAMS.
Chemotherapy and Heart Health
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug prevents heart damage caused by doxorubicin, which is used in chemotherapy. On the other hand, dexrazoxane may undermine the cancer treatment, causing many doctors to leave it on the shelf. Dexrazoxane has been on the market since 2007, and doctors traditionally administered it to cancer patients at the same time as doxorubicin.
The Phoenix Trial – Rise from the Ashes
UAMS researcher Hui-Ming Chang, M.D., MPH, believes she may have found a way for dexrazoxane to protect the heart without hampering doxorubicin’s cancer fighting ability. With the support of a five-year, $3.5 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, she has begun testing her laboratory findings at the newly opened UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Phase 1 Cancer Clinical Trial Unit.
Discovery in the Lab
Chang discovered that if she gives dexrazoxane to mice eight hours before doxorubicin, it completely protects the heart from doxorubicin’s side effects and does not interfere with doxorubicin’s ability to kill cancer cells.
Bench to Bedside
“This is a significant milestone for UAMS and the Cancer Institute.” We are especially excited to kick off our phase 1 trials with Dr. Chang’s bench-to-bedside research. As a result of her remarkable laboratory findings, there is a real opportunity to protect the hearts of patients while treating their cancer.”
Sign up for the Trial
The study is now recruiting 25 healthy women volunteers, ages 18-65. Women interested in volunteering for the study can email PHOENIX1@uams.edu. Compensation is available.