Clinical Trials in Need of Diversity in Connecticut

Newswise — Edith Baker of Plainville faced a devastating reality that patients with advanced cancer inevitably confront: She had stopped responding to conventional treatment.

Radiation and chemotherapy could no longer contain her stage 4 bladder cancer. 

But there was a ray of hope. Baker’s oncologist at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center referred her to a clinical trial at UConn Health involving two immunotherapy drugs: the FDA-approved Keytruda (pembrolizumab) from Merck & Co., credited with successfully treating former President Jimmy Carter’s melanoma; and Epacadostat (IDO1 inhibitor), an experimental drug from Incyte Corp.

“There was nothing else out there for me,” Baker said. Now, a year later, the retired nurse is living a full life with minimal side effects.

Read the full article from The New Haven Register at http://www.nhregister.com/health/20170510/clinical-trials-in-need-of-diversity-in-connecticut