A new five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute will kick off a large clinical trial aimed at improving the quality of life and survival of medically vulnerable patients after they receive a transplant of donated blood-forming stem cells. Grantee Dr. Mohamed Sorror of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will lead the new trial.
“These patients do the worst after transplant. How are we going to change that? From there came the idea of a clinical trial,” Sorror said.
The new trial is unusual in its focus on the needs of older, frailer patients and those with multiple health problems besides cancer, who are usually excluded from cancer clinical trials. It should yield results that could be applied right away to improve patient care, Sorror explained. “I think it carries a lot of promise for patients who come to us with many issues. So that’s why we’re so excited about it,” he said.
