The trial is the first part of a broad partnership between the organizations to expand cancer treatment and research in Central Florida.
Moffitt Cancer Center and AdventHealth, after announcing their major partnership last September, have launched their first collaborative clinical trial – a Phase I trial testing the effectiveness of a promising new combination therapy for lung cancer.
The collaborative trial is a major milestone for local patients who previously would have had to travel to Tampa or beyond to access the innovative early-stage investigational therapies available through cancer clinical trials.
The focus of the trial is to discover the effects of the drug ceritinib (Zykadia®) used in combination with docetaxel (Taxotere®) on participants with a specific type of non-small cell lung cancer. Both drugs are FDA approved cancer treatments; this trial will assess their effectiveness in combination with one another.
“The opening of this trial is the first visible benefit for patients to come out of our relationship with Moffitt Cancer Center,” said Dr. Steven R. Smith, Associate Center Director, AdventHealth – Moffitt Cancer Center Partnership and Chief Scientific Officer of the AdventHealth Research Institute Orlando. “This initiative is just the beginning of what we’ll accomplish together in advancing cancer care and research here in Central Florida.”
The trial, which is now accruing patients, is open at AdventHealth Celebration, where a Moffitt – AdventHealth clinical research unit is in the final stages of construction and is scheduled to open this fall. The new facility will have 28 chairs in the infusion center to provide standard-of-care therapies and 14 chairs in the clinical research unit, where investigation treatments will be administered. Care will be provided to patients with solid tumors and blood cancers.
“Our collaborative partnership with AdventHealth allows Moffitt the opportunity to provide even more Floridians with access to world-class cancer care and groundbreaking clinical trials,” said Dr. Nikhil Khushalani, Assistant Center Director of Clinical Research Review and Partnerships and senior member of the Department of Cutaneous Oncology at Moffitt. “We look forward to the continuing growth of our partnership and its benefit to cancer patients across the state.”
The opening of the trial is another significant milestone in the partnership’s goal to establish AdventHealth as a consortium partner within Moffitt’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Center Support Grant, which signifies NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center designation. NCI designation is the gold standard for cancer research and positively influences clinical care. It’s bestowed upon the nation’s top institutions in recognition of innovative and impactful science, interdisciplinary research, education and training, and the ability to translate discoveries into patient care. Moffitt and AdventHealth have established a research consortium that both institutions hope will be recognized by the NCI in 2026.
In addition to the collaboration at Celebration, the statewide partnership includes a Moffitt outpatient satellite cancer center on the campus of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, outside of Tampa. Moffitt will also offer clinical trials at this location, which is slated to open in February 2021.
