WHITE PLAINS, NY — Researchers at the White Plains Hospital Center for Cancer Care are evaluating patients with lung cancer for participation in nationally recognized clinical trials. Patients with late-stage locally advanced or metastatic lung cancer may be eligible for recruitment into an ongoing multi-center clinical study. The CHECKMATE study is a Phase III clinical trial comparing single agent nivolumab or nivolumab plus ipilimumab combination regimens versus platinum doublet chemotherapy (PT-DC) in patients with stage IV lung cancer who have not received prior chemotherapy (treatment naïve) or patients with recurrent squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of the clinical trial is to evaluate each treatment regimen for improved overall survival and progression-free survival. Checkmate is being conducted nationwide. Of six study sites in New York State and the local region, White Plains Hospital is the only study site in Westchester County.
The White Plains Hospital Center for Cancer Care has emerged as a prominent leader in advancing cancer treatment and clinical trials regionally, enabling patients in Westchester County to access research and pursue treatment closer to home without compromising expertise and quality. The Hospital has a full team of specialists in medical oncology and radiation oncology who work closely to screen cancer patients to determine if they are appropriate candidates for enrollment in a clinical trial.
Presently, the Hospital is a study site for clinical trials of treatments for almost every type of lung cancer as well as an Institutional Review Board (IRB) -approved trial for the screening of lung cancer in high risk individuals. “In an age of increasingly personalized medicine, we now have the ability to find clinical trials of cancer medicines specific to a particular patient’s type and stage of cancer,” said Randy Stevens, MD, Director of Radiation Oncology and Chair, Institutional Review Board at White Plains Hospital.
Increased Access to Clinical Trials at WPH through Montefiore Partnership
Patients undergoing treatment for cancer at White Plains Hospital who do not respond to established treatment regimens now have more opportunities than ever before to enroll in cancer clinical trials. White Plains Hospital’s cancer program has been further enhanced by the Hospital’s partnership with Montefiore Health System. In addition to White Plains Hospital’s two dozen clinical trials, the Center for Cancer Care will connect patients to more than 500 clinical trials now underway at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, many of which patients can access in White Plains.
For more information about the CHECKMATE trial, screening for lung cancer and to learn more about cancer clinical trials at White Plains Hospital, contact Maria Cortese, PhD, FNP at 914-849-7582.