The STARTRK-2 clinical trial is currently recruiting patients. The groundbreaking new treatment is designed to target certain types of cancer. Is it the right choice for you? Find out today.
What is the STARTRK-2 Clinical Trial?
The STARTRK-2 clinical trial is a clinical trial designed to analyze the effects of a new cancer-fighting drug called entrectinib. The drug is taken orally, once daily, and was 80% effective in phase 1 clinical trials at shrinking tumors (20 of 25 patients in the phase 1 trial experienced tumor shrinkage).
The STARTRK-2 clinical trial is currently seeking patients with specific gene rearrangements, including NTRK1, NTRK2, NTRK3, ROS1, or ALK. Your doctor can order a no-cost test to see if your cancer has these rearrangements.
If your cancer does have these rearrangements, then you may be eligible for an investigational therapy called Entrectinib. That therapy is designed to target specific types of cancer.
If you’re interested in pursuing this investigational therapy, then your doctor can simply send a tumor sample that was previously obtained. In most cases, you won’t need to undergo a new biopsy.
The goal of the STARTRK-2 clinical study is to determine which groups of cancer patients may benefit from taking entrectinib. The study also seeks to determine possible side effects.
How Does Entrectinib Work?
The STARTRK-2 involves taking entrectinib, an oral medication. You take the medication once daily.
After entering your body, entrectinib is designed to target the genetic changes found in some cancer cells. It targets the specific gene rearrangements that drive cancer progression in some tumors.
In order to do that, entrectinib specifically targets malfunctioning proteins – the same proteins causing hyperactive cell functions. Entrectinib binds to these proteins, reducing hyperactive cell functions.
Entrectinib already went through phase 1 trials, where it performed remarkably well. The procedure was well-tolerated. As of March 2016, 20 of the 25 patients involved in the trial (80% of patients) had achieved tumor shrinkage. There were more than 25 patients involved in the trial, but only these 25 had the appropriate dosage.
The procedure also worked on people with a variety of types of cancers. These people all had tumors that were positive for the specific gene rearrangements listed above.
Should You Join the STARTRK-2 Trial?
The STARTRK-2 trial website is encouraging patients who have cancer – or anyone with a loved one who has cancer – to order the no-cost diagnostic test from their doctor. You should also talk to your doctor to decide if the STARTRK-2 trial is right for you.
The StarkTrials.com official website has a patient evaluation form to help you decide whether or not the trial is right for you. You can take that patient evaluation form here. The website explains that certain cancer types are more likely to have those specific gene rearrangements, including lung (NSCLC), sarcoma, gastrointestinal (GI) and colorectal cancer (CRC), gastrointestinal stomal tumors (GIST), and head and neck cancers.
Throughout the clinical trial, you’ll be monitored by a team of experts. All side effects will be “thoroughly evaluated and addressed”, explains the official website.
Trials are being led by Ignyta, which has established multiple trial locations around the world. There are trial locations in – or close to – most American urban centers (even Hawaii). You can view a list of locations here.
About Ignyta
Ignyta is a cancer research organization currently developing treatments with the potential to save lives. The Ignyta website explains that:
“treating cancer becomes less mysterious every day, and today Ignyta is writing a new story, identifying the genomic causes of cancer and creating targeted cancer drugs that attack cancer at its source.”
Currently, entrectinib is the drug that’s furthest along in the pipeline (phase 2/3). Other drugs in the company’s pipeline include RXDX-105 and Taladegib (both in phase 1), as well as RXDX-106 (currently in preclinical).
You can get in touch with the San Diego-based company by email at [email protected] or by phone at 1 (858) 255-5959.
Should You Start the STARTRK-2 Clinical Trial?
Talk to your doctor to discover if the STARTRK-2 clinical trial is the right choice for you. The phase 1 clinical trials were well-tolerated by patients and led to an 80% response rate, which means 80% of patients saw improvement in their tumors.
Not all patients are eligible for the trial. You’ll need to ask your doctor to request a no-cost test, which involves sending a tumor sample (like from a previous biopsy) to the company. Then, you can be chosen for acceptance into the program.
