OCF is a financial sponsor with the National Cancer Institute in a clinical trial right now looking at radiation and cisplatin vs radiation and Erbitux. Remember that Erbitux works in a completely different way, and it may or may not substitute for cisplatin, but may just be helpful in conjunction with it. All of your cells know what to do because they are told when to do what by protein messengers. (Everyone has a unique proteome that sends these proteins out just like the have a unique genome). Our cells have receptor sites on their exteriors that these messenger proteins, each dedicated to different function, "plug into" for lack of a better lay term, to deliver their message to replicate, etc. Erbitux blocks the receptor site that accepts the "time to replicate protein" so the cell does not get the message. As we all know malignant cells are replicating at far faster rates than normal cells. So this process of blocking the receptor site allows conventional therapies like radiation to work better because they are are not trying to keep up with the rapid production of new malignant cells. Because of this method of action it isn't a killer, and therefore is never used as a mono therapy.

Cisplatin is a systemic poison. An old school chemotherapy idea that has been around for many years. Everyone knows how toxic it is. The question of the study is could we get the same rates of remission with a less toxic drug even if it wasn't a killer? This study is also the first to use an iPad collection system for quality of life questions being asked of oral cancer patients so that we can improve the passage through treatment and after. OCF purchased and reprogrammed 100 iPads with a custom questionnaire which were given to the 100 clinical centers running the trial and are used for the data collection. OCF was able to piggyback getting information that we need on the qol issues (that we were already involved in) if we covered the costs for our add on. Data from all this should be available at the end of 2014.

Here's an OCF web site page on some of these newer kinds of ideas which is where cancer treatment research is headed now. Erbitux was one of the first successful attempts after a similar lung cancer drug, and head and next is its second indication, colorectal cancer was its first.

http://oralcancerfoundation.org/treatment/targeted_therapies.htm

OCF is also involved in a trial looking at a new molecule (three are three being studied at three different institutions) that will interrupt HPV's ability to express the proteins that cause it to immortalize a cell and take it over into malignancy. Obviously, this for the first time would give us a therapeutic treatment in HPV related oral cancers, and perhaps a path to a preventative therapy for those infected with HPV and not eligible for the vaccine that is out there already prior to development of a cancer.

These are just a couple of projects that show your OCF donations at work.