Breathe California Funded Research Projects
Stanford University
Lead Researcher: Dr. Heather Wakelee
Date Awarded: February 16, 2007
Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer, with less than half of its victims living more than one year after their diagnosis. To combat this deadly disease, researchers at Stanford University have developed a strong clinical lung cancer research program to test new applications of one of the most promising lung cancer drugs now available.
This grant will help Stanford researchers explore new applications of bevacizumab, a cancer drug developed by Genentech and commonly known as Avastin. The drug, which works by blocking new blood vessel formation in tumors, has been the first to provide a significant survival advantage for patients with advanced lung cancer when added to traditional chemotherapy. However, nearly half of the patients with lung cancer are ineligible to receive treatment because of potential side effects such as bleeding.
Dr. Wakelee’s team will use clinical trials to explore the use of bevacizumab among three lung cancer populations that are currently ineligible to receive bevacizumab. These include:
- Patients whose cancer has spread to the brain.
- Patients who are receiving an alternative pair of chemotherapy drugs (carboplatin and gemcitabine) that is often better tolerated than the standard regimen of carboplatin and paclitaxel.
- Patients in the early stages of the disease who have had lung cancer surgery.
For more information on Breathe California's research program, please contact Steve French at (408) 998-5865 or steve@lungsrus.org.