Cancer treatment is often synonymous with harsh side effects including hair loss, extreme fatigue, and neuropathy. These side effects stem from the fact that chemotherapy drugs, including cisplatin, are administered systemically, resulting in whole body side effects. This is true in lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer related death in the US, where intravenous cisplatin given in addition to immunotherapy improves treatment outcomes but results in significant side effects.
Recently, a team at the UVM Cancer Center completed a series of clinical trials aimed at decreasing patient side effects in lung cancer by directly injecting anti-cancer drugs into tumors. The goal was to achieve a high concentration of drug in the tumor while simultaneously minimizing off-target toxicity and improving overall response. Results indicate that injecting cisplatin directly into the tumor results in very few side effects, significant tumor cell death, and potentially improves the immune response.
Building off this exciting discovery, the team, Matthew Kinsey, MD, MPH, Bernard Cole, PhD, Jonathan Boyson, PhD, Jason Bates, PhD, Farrah Khan, MD, Peter Kaufman, MD, Vitor Mori, PhD, Matthew Deeley PhD, and Leila Khorashadi, MD, recently received a new $595,012 R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. The funding will enable the team to evaluate a computational approach which incorporates data from a CT scan to determine the optimal dose and injection location of an anti-cancer drug within a lung tumor. The goal is to further maximize tumor cell killing, increase the immune response, and result in few to no side effects.
For patients residing in rural areas the study could be even more impactful. Rural patients face additional barriers to treatment including long and challenging commutes. This study will allow for diagnosis and treatment in the same procedural setting, reducing time to treatment.
This clinical trial will be enrolling patients with stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer beginning in 2026. The grant was made possible through collaboration with the Flow Cytometry Facility, VIGR, the UVM Cancer Center Clinical Trials office, the Lung Transdisciplinary Team, and the Vermont Lung Center Coordinators. Interested patients should reach out to Kristi Chapman at 802.656.7953.
The team hopes the use of the computational model will allow for more precise and effective drug delivery, further improving patients’ quality of life.