22/07/2025
Another outstanding breakthrough for our patients and the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute!
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๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ
The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute has officially enrolled its first patient in a landmark national clinical trial designed to make bone marrow transplants safer and more effective for patients without a fully matched donor. Known as the OPTIMIZE trial, this study is sponsored by the National Marrow Donor Program through the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ โ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ฌ โ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ.
The study focuses on patients with such as , and myelofibrosis who receive stem cell transplants from partially matched unrelated donors. These patients, often from minority backgrounds, face significant challenges due to limited donor matches in existing registries.
OPTIMIZE is evaluating whether a reduced dose of the chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) can lower the risk of life-threatening infections while still preventing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious complication in which the donor's immune cells attack the recipientโs body.
"Transplant patients come to us looking for hope,โ said Principal Investigator Cesar Gentille, M.D., the hematologist oncologist leading the clinical trial in the UAMS Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program. โIf we can reduce the toxicity of treatment without sacrificing effectiveness, we can improve outcomes and quality of life for a very vulnerable group of patients.โ
The first patient enrolled at UAMS has acute myeloid leukemia. The trial helps lay the groundwork for future breakthroughs in medicine, particularly for patients who lack access to fully matched donors. https://cancer.uams.edu/kb/nct06001385/
