Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute

Clinical Trials

Clinical Trial Identifies Anti-Nausea Treatment

Control of chemotherapy-induced nausea, once an elusive prospect, is increasingly successful with the use of an approved drug commonly used by psychiatrists, according to conclusive findings in a new study by Rudy Navari, assistant dean and director of the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend and clinical director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute.

Navari’s Phase III study demonstrates that the antipsychotic drug Olanzapine, used in conjunction with standard antiemetics during the administration of chemotherapy, curbs vomiting and significantly reduces nausea, and at a lesser cost  than the use of the current standard antiemetic regimen using the drug Aprepitant. (Read more about the study.)

The Olanzapine study is one of five clinical trials that have been or are being conducted in area medical offices, setting the stage for work to be expanded through the Harper Cancer Research Institute.

“The use of tumor and tissue samples from local patients is expected to be particularly important in the work that we do here at HRCI,” Dr. Navari said.  

Ongoing trials are:

  • Olanzapine versus Aprepitant for the Prevention of Chemotherapy-induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Phase III Randomized Trial. Principal investigator: Dr. Rudy Navari. Contact information: 574-631-5574.
  • Treatment of Cancer-related Anorexia with Olanzapine and Megestrol Acetate. Principal investigator: Dr. Rudy Navari. Contact: 574-631-5574.
  • Collection of Blood, Body Fluids, Bone Marrow, Tumor, or Tissue Samples from Patients with Pathologically Defined Neoplasms and Blood or Body Fluids from Normal Volunteers. Principal Investigator: Cancer Care Partners. Contact: Cindy Nagy, R.N., 574-631-8898.

 

Biosample Repository

Zonggao Shi, PhD, Principal Investigator; M. Sharon Stack, PhD, Co-Investigator

Tissue Use Committee -  William Kaliney, MD, (Chair), Executive Vice President South Bend Medical Foundation; Zonggao Shi, PhD, HCRI Biorepository Director; M. Sharon Stack, PhD, HCRI Science Director

To enhance our mission of conducting innovative and integrative basic and clinical research to confront the complex challenges of cancer, we have established a Biosample Repository to enable HCRI researchers to investigate the mechanistic basis of human cancers, to identify new therapeutic targets, and to assess novel biomarkers of disease incidence and/or progression.  In collaboration with pathologists at the South Bend Medical Foundation (http://www.sbmf.org/) and physicians at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center (http://www.sjmed.com/) and Memorial Hospital of South Bend (http://www.qualityoflife.org/), the Biosample Repository will collect tissue samples and fluids (blood, urine, saliva, ascites) procured from patients with malignant disease or control populations.  These tissue samples and biofluids will be distributed to HCRI investigators in a de-identified manner following application to and approval by the Tissue Use Committee. The Biosample Repository will serve as a centralized resource to procure, process, store and distribute biosamples to investigators associated with HCRI.  For further information on tissue procurement and distribution, please contact Dr. Zonggao Shi (574-631-2561) or Dr. Sharon Stack (574-631-2518).

  • Harper Cancer Research Institute Biosample Repository.  Principal Investigator Dr. Zonggao Shi, Co-Investigator Dr. Sharon Stack.  Contact:  574-631-2561.  Northern Indiana Cancer Research Consortium Institutional Review Board Approval assurance number:  FWA00002141.  University of Notre Dame Institutional Review Board Approval protocol number:  12-149.