National Cancer Institute Approves Mount Sinai South Nassau as Clinical Trial Site for Breast and Lung Cancer

Cancer patients on Long Island now will be able to participate in two clinical trials for breast and lung cancer at Mount Sinai South Nassau.

The hospital has received approval from The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Central Institutional Review Board to serve as a National Clinical Trial Network Affiliate (NCTNA) within the Mount Sinai Health System.

Mount Sinai South Nassau is now a part of a prestigious collection of organizations and clinicians in the United States, Canada and internationally that lead clinical trials to establish new standards of care; set the stage for regulatory approval of new therapies; test new treatment approaches and validate new human genome biomarkers.

Institutions affiliated with the NCI Central Institutional Review Board rely on its body of national experts to ensure that clinical trials are reviewed efficiently, with the highest ethical and quality standards. The review board is also dedicated to protecting the rights and welfare of participants in cancer clinical trials.

“Mount Sinai South Nassau increasingly has become a teaching hospital and one that is actively engaged in research on many fronts,” said Adhi Sharma, MD, President of Mount Sinai South Nassau. “This is another step forward to ensure that our patients have access to the latest NCI designated clinical trials.”

“We are making certain that our patients’ have access to clinical trials and research for innovative therapies, medical treatment approaches and surgical approaches,” said Shahriyour Andaz, MD, Director of Clinical Research at Mount Sinai South Nassau. “The findings from the trials and research are also culled by physicians and often times are incorporated in treatment plans to benefit and enhance the outcomes of our patients.”

Upon receiving National Cancer Institute approval, Mount Sinai South Nassau became an affiliate site for two clinical trials: one is a randomized phase III trial that compares treatment approaches for breast cancer and the other assesses side effects as well as effectiveness of using cancer immunotherapy Keytruda in the treatment of patients with recurrent (cancer that has come back) stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.

The randomized phase III trial focuses on lymph node dissection and radiation therapy to see how well it works compared to radiation therapy alone in treating patients with breast cancer previously treated with chemotherapy and surgery. The study on Keytruda will measure its side effects on patients and gauge its ability to shrink tumors, with or without chemotherapy. The hospital is actively recruiting patients to participate. Enrollment information for these trials can be found by calling 516-632-3312.

Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Department of Clinical Research, based at its Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center, is staffed by a clinical research manager, nurse and coordinator. A Protocol Review Committee, composed of a dozen members representing clinical specialties and support services, reviews all protocols and clinical studies to ensure alignment with the NCI Central Institutional Review Board as well as the hospital’s mission. They are then forwarded to the Institutional Review Board that provides regulatory review, approval and monitoring of clinical trials conducted at the hospital to ensure the protection of patient subjects.

This year some 300 patients are newly enrolled in clinical studies conducted by both hospital and community-based physicians. Current research in nearly 15 studies at South Nassau is focusing on gastroenterology and lung, breast and colon cancer, neuro-oncology, OB/GYN, bariatric and orthopedic studies.

About Mount Sinai South Nassau
The Long Island flagship hospital of the Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai South Nassau is designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for outstanding nursing care. Mount Sinai South Nassau is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 455 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,600 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services and operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County, along with Long Island’s only free-standing Emergency Department in Long Beach.

In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, Mount Sinai South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and offers Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies. Mount Sinai South Nassau operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County verified by the American College of Surgeons as well as Long Island’s only free-standing, 9-1-1 receiving Emergency Department in Long Beach. Mount Sinai South Nassau also is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons; is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program; and an Infectious Diseases Society of America Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence. For more information, go to www.mountsinai.org/southnassau.