DCTD Programs
DCTD's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program Convenes 2017 Early Drug Development Meeting
On September 25-26, 2017, the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) sponsored its annual Early Drug Development (EDD) meeting. The EDD meeting is an educational event focused on enhancing communications between the NCI and the network of CTEP-supported Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN)-funded early clinical trial investigators. Academic, government, and pharmaceutical company clinical investigators and related health care personnel involved in oncology early drug development attended this meeting, which consisted of a diverse spectrum of educational sessions, clinical trial update presentations, keynote lectures, and closed meetings with ETCTN investigators (agenda).
Ten speakers discussed clinical trial updates of CTEP-sponsored Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies across the U.S. In addition, three speakers presented the status of CTEP-sponsored early phase immunotherapy trials in Hodgkin lymphoma, solid tumors, and anal cancer. Dr. Michael Atkins of the Lombardi Cancer Center presented a keynote lecture on predictive biomarkers for checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapy.
A follow-up to the 2016 EDD Educational Session on improving research biopsy quality included six presentations providing information on new initiatives to develop biomarker assays and facilitate the collection of optimal research biopsies. This year's educational session on advances in the biology and treatment/immunotherapy of soft-tissue sarcomas included seven presentations providing the status of sarcoma pathologic classification, standard of care therapy and investigational treatment approaches, as well as a discussion of molecular-directed therapy for a sarcoma subtype GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumor).
The Michaele C. Christian Oncology Drug Development Award and Lectureship to honor a mid-career oncology investigator was given to Dr. Michelle Rudek of Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Rudek's work has addressed critical pharmacologic questions related to investigational cancer therapies in early phase clinical trials with a focus on special populations including cancer patients with AIDS malignancies or organ dysfunction.
Contact John Wright, MD, PhD with questions about the EDD meeting and suggestions for the 2018 meeting agenda.