This year, 23,000 Americans will be diagnosed with brain and other nervous system cancers, and 14,000 will die from these forms of the disease. But a new experimental therapy developed by OMRF aims to reduce these grim statistics.
The investigational drug, OKN-007, began clinical trials at the University of Oklahoma’s Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center in August. And it will be used to treat patients suffering from glioblastoma, an aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer.
In laboratory studies at OMRF, Drs. Rheal Towner and Robert Floyd administered the drug to rodents with glioblastomas. The treatments shrank the tumors and extended the animals’ lives.
The initial phase of the new trial is focused on assessing the safety and dosage levels of OKN-007 in glioblastoma patients. If successful in phase 1, the trial would progress to subsequent stages to study the efficacy and safety of the investigational drug in larger patient populations.
“The current treatments for glioblastoma have substantial side effects and complications, and they don’t provide ideal outcomes for patients,” says OMRF President Stephen Prescott. “There is a desperate need for more effective therapies, and we’re excited to see our investigational drug entering human trials.”
