| Project title | SEQuential ImmunoTherapy in Patients With Underserved Rare Cancers (SEQUITUR) |
|---|---|
Grant Amount | $500,000 |
Institution | The University of Sydney |
Investigator Team | Principal investigators A/Prof. Mustafa Khasraw, Prof. Jonathan Cebon, Prof. John Simes, Prof. Donald Berry and A/Prof. Hui Gan with associate investigators Prof. Val Gebski, Prof. Anna Nowak, Dr. Sonia Yip, Prof. Roeland Verhaak and Dr. Hao-Wen Sim |
Grant Type | 2018 Immunotherapy Clinical Trial Grant |
Years | 2018 – 2025 |
SEQUITUR is a clinical trial that will test different immunotherapy combinations in several rare cancer types including several brain cancers. Patients enrolled on SEQUITUR will be treated with a combination of therapies, including immunotherapies. If the disease progresses, despite the treatment or the patients do not respond, they might be able to be treated with a second combination. This process is known as sequential immunotherapy. SEQUITUR will be the first clinical trial to combine this type of adaptive basket trial design, combination therapy, and sequential immunotherapy.
The adaptive design of this trial means drugs that aren’t showing promise can be removed and new drugs showing promise in other cancers can be added. The knowledge gained will help researchers identify which brain cancer patients are likely to benefit from specific immunotherapies, potentially making it less likely that patients will receive drugs that are ineffective against their tumour, while reducing unnecessary side-effects. Results from SEQUITUR will also help form the basis for future studies in cancer immunotherapy.
“SEQUITUR is a unique opportunity to change the way we are doing clinical trials so that new and promising treatments are evaluated and made more accessible to patients in a rapid and efficient manner. This funding opportunity will help us optimise the design of SEQUITUR and expanding this line of research”