Ingalls patient is 2nd in world to enroll in immunotherapy study for advanced colon cancer

Michelle Burnett of Palos Heights recently became the second person in the world to enroll in a breakthrough research study that uses immunotherapy to tap into the body’s own ability to fight advanced colorectal cancer. And it happened right at Ingalls Hospital!

Approximately 360 patients in all will take part in this worldwide Phase III study sponsored by F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. Ingalls is the only hospital in Illinois – and one of only a few in the Midwest – to offer the trial. As a result, people from neighboring states routinely contact Ingalls Cancer Research about it.

A number of patients have already been enrolled since it debuted in the summer, and most are tolerating the treatment well. For 56-year-old Michelle, that is nothing short of a miracle.

Previous chemotherapy treatments from her seven-year battle with advanced colon cancer left her debilitated, fatigued and unable to drive. When her cancer spread to her lymph nodes in 2015, Michelle’s doctors told her she was out of options – and out of time.

But that all changed when she came to Ingalls Cancer Care at a friend’s recommendation.

“When you’re given a diagnosis like I was, you want to find a really good place to go,” she explains. “As soon as I stepped into Ingalls, I knew it was where I should do my treatment.”

Unfortunately, her body didn’t react well to the powerful chemotherapy treatments she initially received, and she had to stop them.

“Thank God, the doctors at Ingalls are involved in clinical trials,” she adds. “I was absolutely non-functional. I couldn’t drive my car; I was hospitalized for pain because the disease was worsening, and the chemotherapy wasn’t working for me.”

That’s when Mark Kozloff M.D., Medical Director of Ingalls Cancer Care, and cancer research nurse Joy Vlamakis, R.N., told her about the new study at Ingalls. The difference in Michelle after just four treatments was like “night and day.”

“I remember calling Joy and saying, ‘Oh my God, I feel like normal,’” she recalls. “This was the first time in a year and a half that I felt so good because of these treatments. The real miracle came when I had my scan done after four treatments and found out that not only did my disease improve overall by 36 percent, but that one of the tumors in my liver completely disappeared. That’s why I wanted to go to Ingalls, and that’s what they can accomplish for you.”

About the Study

The Phase III clinical trial (NCT02788279) is studying three different chemotherapy regimens –regorafenib, the standard treatment, to cobimetinib plus atezolizumab and atezolizumab monotherapy. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago in June, researchers reported that the combination of cobimetinib and atezolizumab was well tolerated and demonstrated promising results.

To enroll in the study, participants must be at least 18 years of age, have locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer, and have had at least two previous rounds of chemotherapy.

“Colorectal cancer was once considered unresponsive to immunotherapy,” Dr. Kozloff explains. “The immune system is the body’s natural defense against disease, but cancer cells have a way of inhibiting the immune system. Immunotherapy agents help unleash the immune system’s potential to fight them off in certain types of cancer.

“These are the hot drugs in cancer care right now,” he adds. “And I’m proud to say we’ve been investigating and using these treatments at Ingalls for several years now.”

Ingalls currently offers immunotherapy treatments for malignant melanoma, certain types of lung cancer, and kidney cancer, and is investigating immunotherapy agents to treat esophageal and gastrointestinal/stomach cancers.

For more information about this and other clinical trials at Ingalls, call 708.915.HOPE.