Trust recruits first UK patient to major lung cancer study

A major international lung cancer study has opened successfully at our Trust, with teams recruiting the first patient in the UK to a non-small cell lung cancer study. This Phase III study is looking at a new treatment or people with advanced lung cancer whose disease has already been treated and has continued to grow.

Led locally by Principal Investigator Dr Doraid Alrifai, Consultant in Medical Oncology, the study has been delivered through close collaboration between solid tumour research delivery staff within our Clinical Research Facility, Research and development (R&D),  pharmacy colleagues, radiology department, clinical nurse specialists and staff from our Trust’s Trevor Howell Day Unit (THDU) teams, alongside wider support services.

Dr Alrifai said: “Recruiting the first patient in the UK to this study is an important achievement for our patients and for the research teams involved. Lung cancer remains an area of significant unmet need, and studies such as this are essential if we are to develop new treatment options for people whose disease has progressed despite existing therapies.”

The study is a commercial, multicentre, randomised, open-label interventional trial. It compares an investigational therapy with docetaxel, a standard chemotherapy used in this setting.

The study forms part of a wider clinical development programme examining a class of medicines designed to deliver targeted cancer treatment while reducing exposure to healthy tissue.

Eligible participants receive study treatment according to the protocol and undergo regular clinical assessments, safety monitoring and data collection. The research team closely monitors treatment administration, tolerability and any adverse events throughout participation.

The primary goal of the trial is to assess the safety, tolerability and clinical effectiveness of the therapy in this patient group. Findings from the study are expected to add to the evidence base needed to shape future treatment pathways for advanced lung cancer.

Our Trust’s timely set-up of the study and first UK recruitment also helped meet the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) study set-up indicator, reflecting the coordinated effort required to bring complex cancer trials to patients quickly and safely.

Participants will continue to be followed according to the study protocol, including monitoring of treatment response, safety outcomes, adverse events and ongoing clinical status after treatment where applicable.