The CERN Foundation launched three separate clinical trials so far, two for adult patients and one for pediatric patients.
Clinical trials are an integral part of the CERN Foundation’s many projects and collaboration. Our hope in these trials, and in all of our work, is to collect critical data that will advance a cure.
CERN 08-02 Trial
The adult trial - now open for enrollment - is focused on improving treatment regimens by targeting two important molecular pathways - ERBB1 (also known as epidermal growth factor receptor) and ERBB2 (also known as Her-2) and their relationship to chemotherapy resistance caused by the MGMT protein. Participants will be placed on a drug regimen that addresses these two areas and evaluates any effect or improvement in the tumors response to chemotherapy.
Visit the CERN 08-02 page for more details about the trial objectives, process and enrollment criteria.
CERN 09-02 Trial
The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the efficacy of carboplatin and bevacizumab for the treatment of recurrent intracranial low grade or anaplastic ependymoma after failure of one line of chemotherapy. The primary endpoint will be progression-free survival (PFS) at one year.
Visit the CERN 09-02 page for more details about the trial objectives, process and enrollment criteria.
5-FU Trial
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a participating CERN Institution, launched a pediatric clinical trial.
The pediatric 5-FU trial is currently open for enrollment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This trial is focused on using the drug called 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) to treat children with brain tumors. This study is being done to find out the best dose to give children and young adults with relapsed or recurrent ependymoma so that future studies with this drug can be done.
Visit the 5-FU page for more details about the trial objectives, process and enrollment criteria.
Completed CERN Clinical Trial
CERN 08-01 Trial
The pediatric trial focused on introducing novel treatment regimens for patients diagnosed with recurrent ependymoma. The study used a drug called Lapatinib in combination with Avastin, another novel medicine. Lapatinib targets the ERBB1 and ERBB2 pathway, which has been documented to be an important pathway that drives ependymoma cells to proliferate and get new blood supply. Avastin targets Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), a key protein that results in new blood supply to the cancer cells. By using these two medication in combination we monitored the response rates of recurrent ependymoma and compared them to previously used treatment regimens for recurrent ependymoma.
Visit the CERN 08-01 page for more details about the trial objectives.