Hoosier Cancer Research Network is pleased to announce the opening of a cancer clinical trial for subjects with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer at select sites throughout the United States.

The study, known as GU14-202, is designed to assess the safety and toxicity of an investigational drug called niraparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, given in combination with an anti-androgen drug called enzalutamide. The FDA approved enzalutamide for the treatment of castrate-resistant prostate cancer in 2012, but it has not yet approved niraparib.

PARP is a group of proteins that are involved with DNA repair. According to study co-investigator John Paul Flores, MD, of Tufts Medical Center, castrate-resistant prostate cancer often involves defects in DNA repair.

Through this study, investigators are seeking to learn what effect adding a PARP inhibitor will have when combined with standard anti-androgen therapy in the treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

The study is open to subjects who have adenocarcinoma of the prostate that has spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body. To be eligible, subjects must have ongoing treatment to reduce the level of a hormone called androgen in the body, or have had a procedure called a bilateral orchiectomy to remove both testicles. Subjects also must have an estimated life expectancy of at least 6 months. Prior treatment for castration-resistant prostate cancer, including docetaxel, cabazitaxel, supuleucal-T, or Radium-223, is allowed.

See clinicaltrials.gov (study # NCT02500901) for more information about this trial, including full eligibility requirements.

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has initiated more than 150 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 300 publications. More than 4,600 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.