Contact: Karen Stamm, (210) 562-6503

Francis Giles, M.B., M.D., FRCPI, FRCPath, is director of the CTRC’s Institute for Drug Development, the world’s largest Phase I cancer drug development program.
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SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 29, 2008) ― The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio announced Sept. 29 that the CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) has opened an IDD Phase I clinic at the Medical Center outpatient cancer center of the Cancer Care Centers of South Texas.

This is the first off-campus IDD Phase I clinic in a community oncology practice. It represents an innovative new partnership between a National Cancer Institute-designated academic cancer center and a leading local community oncology practice.

Greater access to novel cancer therapies
IDD Director Francis Giles, M.B., M.D., FRCPI, FRCPath, expressed his excitement over the new partnership, saying, “This collaboration will offer the San Antonio community expanded access to leading investigational therapies and clinical studies and typifies the synergy with our community colleagues that CTRC is creating across South Texas. This partnership is very important as it allows us to continue to extend the unique benefits of therapies that can only be delivered at an NCI-designated cancer center to patients in the community being treated by their community physicians.” Dr. Giles also is deputy director of the CTRC and chief of the division of hematology and medical oncology in the Health Science Center’s Department of Medicine.

Major participant in the development of key cancer drugs
Cancer Care Centers of South Texas offers clinical research as a component of its community-based cancer care and is making significant contributions in the search for new cancer treatment options. Cancer Care Centers of South Texas is affiliated with US Oncology, one of the nation’s largest health care networks dedicated to cancer treatment and clinical research. US Oncology-affiliated practices, including Cancer Care Centers of South Texas, have participated in clinical studies for 25 of the last 30 anticancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, many of which had their early development work performed at the IDD.

Combining cancer treatment with access to new therapies
“The benefits of this partnership to cancer patients throughout South Texas will be enormous. Now, in addition to our own extensive clinical study program, Cancer Care Centers of South Texas’ patients will be able to participate in what is widely acknowledged to be one of the best Phase I programs in the country, and our patients can receive these treatments in the familiar surroundings of our own cancer center,” said Dr. Roger Lyons, hematologist, and vice president of Cancer Care Centers of South Texas.

World’s largest Phase I cancer clinical study program
IDD conducts the largest, most extensive Phase I cancer drug clinical study program in the world and offers eligible patients access to the greatest number and widest range of new, investigational anticancer drugs. Many of the most important and effective anti-cancer drugs recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were developed and/or were first tested at CTRC. During the past five years, more than 2,600 patients have been treated on new cancer therapies at the CTRC medical center campus. At any given time, the CTRC is studying as many as 50 new drugs.

Partnership offers high quality of care through NCI-designated cancer center
“The CTRC at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio is the region’s only NCI-designated cancer center. This NCI designation means that our physicians and preclinical scientists are constantly developing new ways to treat cancer more effectively and safely. Patients come from all over the world to be treated in the IDD Phase I program. We are very pleased to be able to extend the reach of this research and offer additional hope to cancer patients through this partnership,” said Dr. Tyler Curiel, executive director of The CTRC at The UT Health Science Center.

CTRC also partners with BAMC
“The CTRC operates only one other satellite Phase I program and that is at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The CTRC/ BAMC Phase I program represents the nation’s only dedicated Phase I oncology clinical research program available to active and retired military and their dependents, and it is a program to which we are particularly devoted,” added Dr. Giles.

All FDA-approved cancer treatments are first tested in clinical studies. In clinical studies, patients are monitored closely by their physician as well as other members of the medical team. Phase I clinical studies represent the first time that a drug that has shown promise in the laboratory is being used in humans.

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The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug studies program in the world. IDD has participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.

Cancer Care Centers of South Texas is a comprehensive cancer care practice with 17 locations in the San Antonio area including, New Braunfels, Seguin, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Uvalde, Marble Falls, Boerne, Hondo and Jourdanton. The physicians and staff provide state-of-the-art treatment for cancer and disorders of the blood as well as clinical studies. The highly-qualified physician staff is comprised of 29 board-certified physicians specializing in medical oncology, hematology, radiation oncology and gynecologic oncology, as well as a skilled and compassionate team made up of RN's, nurse practitioners and physician assistants specializing in the care of patients with cancer and blood disorders. US Oncology, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is one of the nation’s largest cancer treatment and research networks, with 1,164 physicians operating in 443 locations, including 91 radiation oncology facilities in 39 states. For more information please visit www.cccst.com.