Norton Cancer Institute’s clinical research program was developed to ensure that cancer patients in our community and region have access to evolving clinical science. Guided by an experienced cadre of physicians and supported by a team of clinical research nurses and coordinators, Norton Cancer Institute oversees about 200 active clinical trials at any point in…
At any time, Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, is participating in dozens of clinical trials, representing a wide gamut of diagnoses and moving our understanding of childhood cancers forward. Norton Children’s Cancer Institute is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group and typically opens the same treatment studies and…
Inline revision of pedicle screws without increasing the screw diameter can be achieved using dual-pitch screws with cancellous pitch in the vertebral body and cortical pitch in the pedicle, according to a study published in The Spine Journal. “Dual-pitch screws may allow for inline revision of screws without upsizing screw diameter, minimizing the risk of…
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have the potential to hasten recovery from lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative spine conditions, with reduced in-hospital opioid consumption and improved postoperative pain scores, according to a study published recently in Global Spine Journal. ERAS, which includes preoperative counseling, nutritional and medical optimization, standardized pain management and anesthesia, and…
After participating in a groundbreaking clinical trial that showed the Optune tumor treatment field device improves glioblastoma multiforme survival when combined with chemotherapy, neuro-oncologists at the Norton Healthcare Brain Tumor Center in Louisville, Kentucky, are treating non-trial participants. Approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the device in conjunction with maintenance temozolomide chemotherapy…
Five years after complex adult spinal deformity surgery, patients reported durable improvement in a range of measurable outcomes, according to a recently published study. Patients reported improvements in lower-back pain functionality (Oswestry Disability Index), overall health (SF-36 physical and mental health scores), health-related quality of life (Scoliosis Research Society – 22R) and back and leg…
In-hospital consumption of opioids after elective spine surgery is driven chiefly by age, previous opioid use, smoking and the number of levels fused, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Spine Surgery. With as many as 38% of patients nationally still on opioids one year after elective spine surgery, the researchers sought…
Patients with advanced/unresectable or metastatic breast cancer treated with palbociclib combination therapy experienced low levels of baseline pain and fatigue, a recent study found. The study is apparently one of the first outside a clinical trial to evaluate the day-to-day effects of advanced/unresectable or metastatic breast cancer and its treatment along with the effects of…
A new study published in Epilepsy Research found 64.3% of patients with various forms of drug-resistant epilepsy in the LAANTERN (Laser Ablation of Abnormal Neurological Tissue Using Robotic NeuroBlate System) registry were free of disabling seizures, reaching Engel I, after one year. Sixty patients were enrolled in the study specifically for epilepsy treatment. Forty-two reached…
The University of Kentucky, in partnership with Baptist Health Lexington and Norton Healthcare in Louisville, has been selected as a testing site for the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson’s Phase 3 clinical research study, called the ENSEMBLE trial, to evaluate Janssen’s investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate, JNJ-78436735, also known as Ad26.COV2.S. The Phase 3…
A COVID-19 patient at Norton Healthcare is the first in the world to participate in a randomized Phase 2 clinical study using low-dose selinexor. This oral drug, manufactured by Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. and marketed as XPOVIO, is currently approved at higher doses by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for cancer patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma….
Robert C. G. Martin II, M.D., Ph.D., has published research in Annals of Surgical Oncology, in a paper titled “Evaluating the Regulatory Immunomodulation Effect of Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.” Dr. Martin is a surgical oncologist in multidisciplinary collaboration between Norton Cancer Institute and the University of Louisville. This study evaluated an institutional review…