The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Research Program recently awarded research grants to investigators following a review of proposals submitted in response to an NCCN axitinib request for proposals.
These grants were made possible through general research support of $2.1 million from Pfizer. Researchers will evaluate and define the clinical activity of Pfizer's axitinib in various tumor types, including head and neck, adenoid cystic, and carcinoid cancers, as well as melanoma.
Axitinib is an oral and selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3, which can influence tumor growth, vascular angiogenesis, and progression of cancer. Axitinib is an investigational agent and has not been approved by regulatory agencies.
The following proposals have been awarded funding:
- Alan Ho, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, "A Double-Blind Randomized Phase II Study of Axitinib versus Placebo in Patients with Progressive, Recurrent/Metastatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma"
- Nikhil Khushalani, MD, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, "Predictive Markers of Response in a Phase II Trial of Axitinib in Advanced Melanoma"
- Jonathan Strosberg, MD, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, "A Phase II Study of Axitinib in Advanced Carcinoid Tumors"
- Francis Worden, MD, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, "Phase II Trial Evaluating Axitinib in Patients with Unresectable, Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer"
