Personal journeys pioneer progress against cancer
Clinical trials offer hope and new options
by Cindy Whitcome
Diane Nappier had the competitive spirit to fight a less-than-promising cancer prognosis. Bill Smith wanted to avoid total body radiation. Nina Allen wondered if she had an increased risk for cancer. Mary Russell and Dan Lyons wanted the best for their 4-year-old daughter.
Whatever their reasons, these individuals affected by cancer enrolled in clinical trials, defined simply as any research study that involves humans.
Clinicians often call these people the "true heroes" of cancer research because their participation in clinical trials has provided the foundation for progress against cancer in the United States. Only a few months ago, the National Cancer Institute announced that the rate of new cancer cases and deaths for all cancers has continued to decline.
According to Richard Stone, M.D., clinical director of the Adult Leukemia Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), "Clinical trials are the only way to move the field of cancer treatment forward. A new therapy is just an idea until it is proven in a clinical trial. Because people are willing to take a chance for themselves and for others, we are able to reach a new point in treatment."
But heroism and universal progress against cancer are not usually foremost in patients' minds. "My first motivation was selfish — how will this new treatment help me fight my cancer?" says Nappier. "As I continue, I think about what this means to others. I'm hoping my experience will help physicians come closer to figuring out how to kill cancer cells."
"My first motivation was selfish — how will this new treatment help me fight my cancer? As I continue, of course, I think about what this means for others. I'm hoping my experience will help physicians come closer to figuring out how to kill cancer cells."
— Diane Nappier
Since 1995, Nappier, a physical education teacher from Connecticut, has been fighting a bone marrow disease that has developed into acute myeloid leukemia. When conventional therapy, including two bone marrow transplants, failed to bring longterm health, she chose to participate in a trial conducted at Dana-Farber by Stone and Daniel DeAngelo, M.D., Ph.D.
A sample of Nappier's own diseased cells was removed, injected with a virus that causes the cells to make a protein that will attract immune cells, and introduced back into her body as a vaccine. It is expected that when her body's immune system recognizes and attacks these modified cells, it will trigger an immune response against all the diseased cells. This strategy was developed in the Dana-Farber lab of Glenn Dranoff, M.D.
The first six months of the trial have gone well, with no further disease progression. Nappier remains hopeful and determined. "There have been times in my treatment when I have been devastated by bad news," she says. "Then I realized I don't want to walk away from this life — I want to fight for it."
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