Trials Against Stubborn Cancer Tumors

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded a $1.4 million grant to Erin Barr, MD. The grant enhances access to pediatric oncology clinical trials.

Barr began early-phase clinical trials in West Texas as co-chair of SPOC-2012-001, part of the South Plains Oncology Consortium, a group of researchers in Texas who conduct oncology trials and translational research. She will test a combination of two cancer drugs to determine which is more effective for individuals ages 12 to 21 with solid tumors that have returned or have not responded to previous treatments.

She is also the study chair for the national Children’s Oncology Group, the world’s largest organization devoted to childhood and adolescent cancer. This clinical trial studies a way to make radiation therapy work better against cancer by preventing cancer cells from repairing themselves after radiation damage.