Sanford to Help Study Cancer Drugs and Cross-Treatment

A new clinical trial at Sanford Health will examine whether medications that are FDA-approved for one cancer can effectively treat another.

Sanford Health locations in Sioux Falls, Fargo and Bismarck are participating in this national effort. The Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry Study, or TAPUR, is sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the world’s leading organization representing oncologists. 

 “Precision cancer therapy shows great promise, but despite our advances in genetic testing, treatment options have been limited,” said Steven Powell, M.D., the principal investigator for Sanford Health sites. “ASCO’s TAPUR study will increase the treatment options for our patients.”

Patients who have had genomic testing and are identified to 

 have a targetable alteration qualify for the study and will gain access to treatments matched to their needs. Right now, the study is for adults with advanced cancers that have progressed on standard therapy or for whom no standard therapy exists.

Three medical oncologists from Sanford Health are principal investigators in the trial including Dr. Powell in Sioux Falls, Anu Gaba, MD, in Fargo, and John Reynolds, MD, in Bismarck.

 AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Co., Genetech, Merck and Pfizer have volunteered to contribute medications to this effort. As more companies sign on, more drugs that target additional cancers may be added to the trial.

The study is open to cancer patients 18 and older who are no longer benefiting from standard cancer treatment.