Archbold Medical Center| Archives Magazine | Winter 2016

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• WINTER 2016 15
Polycythemia vera
Eligible partic-
ipants include
patients with
a diagnosis of
polycythemia
vera.
Renal cell
Eligible par-
ticipants may
include those
with meta-
static renal cell
cancer who
have not been
treated with
chemotherapy.
Multiple myeloma
Eligible patients
may include
those with newly
diagnosed (within
two months of
diagnosis) multi-
ple myeloma.
Breast cancer
Eligible participants
include patients with
breast cancer that is
HER2-negative and
hormone-receptor-
positive. Patient must
be postmenopausal
and have good per-
formance status.
Pancreatic cancer
Eligible participants
may include patients
with pancreatic can-
cer who have been
treated with one
prior chemotherapy
regimen, are in good
performance status
and are able to swal-
low oral medication.
Colorectal cancer
Eligible partic-
ipants include
patients with
colorectal cancer
that have good
performance sta-
tus and the ability
to be on treatment
for at least three
months.
WHEN TRADITIONAL therapies fall
short, some cancer patients hit the road.
They travel to a large medical center
and access the cutting-edge treatments
available in clinical trials. The travel isn’t
ideal, but these patients often feel like
they have no other choice.
But they do.
Patients can get pioneering can-
cer treatment right here in southwest
Georgia at Archbold’s Lewis Hall
Singletary Oncology Center. In fact, the
clinical trials program has been growing
for several years now. Since the Archbold
oncology clinical research program
began in 1990, the Singletary Oncology
Center has hosted 26 trials. And a total
of 158 Archbold patients have actu-
ally participated in the trials hosted in
Thomasville.
‘A world of opportunity’
Clinical trials are highly structured stud-
ies. They let patients try new medica-
tions under the close care of physicians
and researchers.
“We conduct the studies under strict
guidance and rules, with oversight from
the sponsor and the FDA, and we have
to be really good at it,” said Singletary
Oncology Center Medical and Clinical
Trials Director Teresa Coleman, MD, FACP.
“It opens up a world of opportunity for
some of our local patients.”
The program is an amazing resource.
One of the most exciting trials right now
involves advanced NSCLC—the most com-
mon type of lung cancer. New PD-1 inhibi-
tor drugs could help about 900 patients in
our community in just one year.
Focused on you
People who participate in clinical trials
get more than just cutting-edge medi-
cations. They also receive a remarkable
level of care.
“It’s almost like getting assigned your
own personal nurse,” said Dr. Coleman.
Trial participants benefit from this
highly personalized attention, but
ultimately, we all benefit. The trials move
cancer treatment forward.
“It’s the only way to solve the prob-
lems,” Dr. Coleman said. “And studies
show that patients who participate in
clinical trials have better outcomes.”
Dr. Coleman says one particular example
where the Center has seen success through
clinical trials is the prolonged survival
rates for metastatic lung cancer patients.
“Patients with a metastatic lung cancer
diagnosis that do not participate in a clin-
ical trial are typically given a life expec-
tancy of six months,” said Dr. Coleman.
“But we’ve seen patients enrolled in
clinical trials have a 23-month prolonged
survival after a metastatic diagnosis.”
The Singletary Oncology Center works
with various pharmaceutical companies
to make these trials possible. The Center
has recently partnered with the Winship
Cancer Center at Emory University. This
partnership will increase the number
and types of trials available to patients in
this area.
“What we’re trying to do is provide
that resource here in our community,”
said Dr. Coleman. “We serve quite a large
surrounding area. So, ultimately our goal
is to provide for the needs of our own
patients so they don’t need to travel.”
Could a clinical trial help you?
Dr. Coleman hopes to eventually have a clinical trial for
every patient who needs one. To learn more about the
trials at Singletary Oncology Center, call 229.584.5400.
For a complete listing of clinical trials available at
Archbold, visit .