Gastrointestinal Cancer SPORE
The UNC Gastrointestinal Cancer SPORE (Specialized Programs of Research Excellence), one of only four in the country, is very active on both the local and national level, and is led by UNC radiation oncologist Dr. Joel Tepper. The radiation oncology component of this research program has focused on the use of combined modality therapy in the treatment of diseases of the GI tract, and assessing possible biological indicators of treatment response.
On the national level, Dr. Tepper had been Vice-Chair of the GI Committee of CALGB (a large national cooperative clinical trials group) for many years, and is now Co-Chair of the NCI GI Steering Committee that coordinates the clinical research activities of all of the national cooperative groups in GI cancer research. He also is national Co-Chair of CALGB 80101, a study of adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy in gastric cancer. Additional Details→
UNC GI clinical trials that involve radiotherapy:
- CALGB80101: Phase III intergroup trial of adjuvant chemoradiation after resection of gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma
- LCCC0405: A two-part Phase I study of the addition of oxaliplatin to gemcitabine, and then erlotinib plus oxaliplatin to gemcitabine as radiosensitizers for pancreatic and biliary adenocarcinoma
- LCCC0209: A Phase I study of PS-341 in combination with 5-fluorouracil and external beam radiotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic rectal cancer
- LCCC 0216: Biologic study of the early effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on global gene expression, NFkB and p53 in adenocarcinoma of the rectum