News

March 2020

Due to multiple issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, some SPOC clinical trials will be suspended to accrual. Any trials suspended will be noted on this website, and when open to accrual, we will also note that on this website. At the current time this only applies to therapeutic clinical trials and the TR-01 biobanking study remains open to accrual.

June 2017

Information regarding SPOC-2015-01, Phase 1 trial of dose escalated BGB324 in combination with docetaxel for previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has been added to our Current Trials page.

July 2016

A video describing SPOC-2013-001, Phase I Study of Fenretinide (4-HPR, NSC 374551) Lym-X-SorbTM (LXS) Oral Powder Plus Ketoconazole Plus Vincristine in Patients with Recurrent or Resistant Neuroblastoma (IND #: 68,254), is now available. It can be viewed here on our website.

April 2016

The FDA has now cleared the formulated clinical safingol for use in the SPOC Phase I study (SPOC 2010-02). This phase I study will be open to patient accrual in summer of 2016.

August 1, 2011

SPOC investigators score in top 1% of National Cancer Institute "Quick Trials" Study Section. A grant to support SPOC-2010-02, a phase I trial of intravenous fenretinide + safingol was funded by the National Cancer Institute, marking the first NCI funding for a SPOC clinical trial. PI of the grant is Barry Maurer, MD PhD (TTUHSC), co-investigators are David Gerber, MD (UTSW), Min Kang, PharmD (TTUHSC), and C Patrick Reynolds, MD PhD (TTUHSC).

July 2011

SPOC investigators receive a $2.7 million dollar grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to establish the Texas Cancer Cell Repository (www.TXCCR.org). The PI of the grant is Dr. C Patrick Reynolds (TTUHSC), Co-PI is Dr. Adi Gazdar (UTSW), and Dr. Jayanthi Lea (UTSW) and Dr. Min Kang (TTUHSC) are coinvestigators. The TXCCR will establish and bank cell lines (cells grown in the test tube) and also xenografts (growth of human cancers in special mice) and make these cancer models available to other investigators for biological and preclinical therapeutic studies. The TXCCR is the viable cell banking component of a larger endeavor that SPOC participates in, the Texas Cancer Research Biobank (www.TXCRB.org), which is centered at Baylor College of Medicine and funded by CPRIT. The TCRB and the TXCCR insure that patients with cancer in Texas are participating in state-of-the art research programs to use the most sophisticated technology available to understand the biology of various cancers and also to develop new models for laboratory testing of novel therapeutic approaches.

November 2010

Barry Maurer, MD PhD gives the first public presentation of a SPOC clinical trial, the PhI-42 phase I study of intravenous fenretinide, carried out in collaboration with the California Cancer Consortium. The study completed dose escalation, and was able to establish a maximal tolerated dose and recommend dose for phase II studies. The report also detailed an impressive response rate in recurrent T cell lymphoma patients (including multiple sustained comple responses). SPOC co-authors included Don Quick, MD, Min Kang, PharmD, and C. Patrick Reynolds, MD PhD.

March 2010

SPOC investigators receive a $2.7 million dollar grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to establish the Texas Cancer Cell Repository (www.TXCCR.org). The TXCCR will establish and bank cell lines (cells grown in the test tube) and also xenografts (growth of human cancers in special mice) and make these cancer models available to other investigators for biological and preclinical therapeutic studies. The TXCCR is the viable cell banking component of a larger endeavor that SPOC participates in, the Texas Cancer Research Biobank, which is centered at Baylor College of Medicine and funded by CPRIT. The TCRB and the TXCCR insure that patients with cancer in Texas are participating in state-of-the art research programs to use the most sophisticated technology available to understand the biology of various cancers and also to develop new models for laboratory testing of novel therapeutic approaches.

February 1st, 2009

SPOC-2008-01 has been activated for IRB submission.

October 1st, 2008

The South Plains Oncology Consortium (SPOC) website goes live.

September 18th, 2008

The South Plains Oncology Consortium (SPOC) is a regional consortium devoted to conducting early phase oncology trials and translational cancer research. A major goal of SPOC is to improve access for new anti-cancer drugs to patients in West Texas and the surrounding region.

The initial member institutions of SPOC are Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center/University Medical Center and the Joe Arrington Research and Treatment Center at Covenant Health System.