Featured Trials

As an NCI-designated cancer center, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center offers clinical trials and therapies not available elsewhere in the state. Below are some of the newest and most promising clinical trials that are currently open to patients.

Sarcoma Trial

A new sarcoma clinical trial at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is testing the feasibility of offering a shorter course of preoperative radiation therapy for sarcoma patients to ease the logistical burden of accessing treatment. Under the standard course of treatment, sarcoma patients would need to be at the center for five weeks of preoperative radiation therapy, five days a week. Participants in the study will get their radiation done within a week.

Large B-Cell Lymphoma Trial

When CAR-T-cell therapy works, the results can seem miraculous. But it doesn't work miracles for everyone and the prognosis for patients that relapse after CAR-T is very poor. Brian Hess, M.D., is leading a national phase II clinical trial to investigate whether particular drugs, individually or in combination, will prevent relapse in patients with large B-cell lymphoma who have partial remission or stable disease after CAR-T-cell therapy.

HER2 Positive Breast Cancer Trial

Clinical trials coordinator Alexandria Green, right, has connected Rachael Leppert with two clinical trials and the pair have become close friends during the process. The second trial is a phase III study to confirm whether the addition of tucatinib to a standard of care treatment for HER2 positive breast cancer is beneficial to patients and helps keep their cancer in remission.

Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) Study

Immunotherapy treatments typically last two years, though there isn’t strong research indicating what the proper length of treatment should be. A new Hollings pilot study is looking at circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in "extraordinary responders" — patients whose cancer is quickly knocked down during immunotherapy. If treatments can potentially be stopped sooner, patients may experience lower toxicity and other side effects. All cancer types are eligible for the study.

Prostate Cancer Trial

A phase II clinical trial at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center will investigate whether a common statin – a drug used to lower cholesterol levels – affects an immune system pathway that could lead to a stronger anti-tumor response in patients with prostate cancer.

COAST Trial

Hollings researchers are conducting a phase 1 clinical trial that is testing combinations of drugs typically used to treat other diseases like HIV and diabetes to see if they can effectively kill cancer cells while also being less toxic than some chemotherapy drugs. Called the Combination of Autophagy Selective Therapeutics (COAST) trial, this study is currently open to patients with an advanced solid tumor of any type.

Multiple Myeloma Trial

After a transplant, the standard of care for multiple myeloma patients like Glenn Bachmann is to remain on maintenance chemotherapy for the rest of their lives. A Hollings phase III trial is evaluating whether the addition of a drug called daratumumab might allow patients who are in deep remission to stop after about two years of treatment.

TMIST Breast Cancer Trial

Hollings is enrolling patients in a national clinical trial aimed at improving breast cancer screenings and treatment options for women with, and without, health insurance. The trial, called Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (TMIST), will provide insights into which type of screening is best and how to improve future breast cancer care.

Lung-MAP Trial

A bench-to-bedside-pioneered lung cancer immunology developed at Hollings is included in the national Lung-MAP clinical trial, which is currently enrolling patients at Hollings. The combination immunotherapy developed at Hollings will be offered as a treatment in the unmatched arm, which comprises patients with tumors that do not have mutations targetable with a drug, as opposed to a treatment arm.