Dr. Christopher Ryan led OHSU's participation in the Yondelis trial.
A newly FDA-approved treatment for soft tissue sarcoma cancers offers the hope of “progression-free” survival for patients living with this rare or “orphan” disease.
So said Dr. Christopher Ryan, a researcher at the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute who led the institution's participation in a trial for the drug called Yondelis. Some 116 patients were drawn from the Institute, starting in 2006.
Enlarge Dr. Christopher Ryan led OHSU's participation in the Yondelis trial.
“Yondelis fills a void where there have been no other therapies specifically for these types of soft tissue sarcoma,” said Dr. Ryan. “It will set the new bar against which future treatments in this setting will be compared.”
Sarcomas are so rare that the condition is called a “referral disease,” leading patients seeking treatment to national cancer centers like OHSU. “Progression-free survival” describes positive results leading to an enhanced quality and quantity of life for those with inoperable, metastasized or otherwise incurable conditions.
“Yondelis slowed the progression of the sarcoma by 50 percent compared with the comparator chemotherapy, as twice as many patients treated with Yondelis had shrinkage of tumors,” said Ryan, who is a medical oncologist.
Yondelis (or trabectedin), a chemotherapy marketed by Janssen Biotech, Inc., is for the treatment of specific soft tissue sarcomas that cannot be removed by surgery or are metastatic and have spread to organs. The treatment is approved for patients who previously received chemotherapy that contained anthracycline.
“I am inspired by patients who received breakthrough treatments in clinical trials before those treatments were widely available,” said Dr. Ryan. “I’m also just as inspired by patients who, in their struggle with cancer, make decisions to try new treatments, not only to help themselves but to help others.
It’s very gratifying.” .