NEW CLINICAL TRIAL FOR BOWEL CANCER PATIENTS - BICCC

BICCC – Brief Intervention with Cyclophosphamide in patients with Colorectal Cancer who have completed treatment.

This trial aims to give patients with stage II, III or IVA colorectal cancer (bowel cancer) a short course of low-dose cyclophosphamide to boost anti-tumour immune responses, with the view of improving disease-free survival. BICCC will be open in 10 hospitals across the UK.

Bowel cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In the early stages of the disease, many patients can be cured with surgery. However, in the later stages, bowel cancer can return or progress even after surgery and chemotherapy. One potential way of preventing relapse is by making the patient’s immune system better at detecting and destroying any cancer cells that might remain after treatment.

T cells are a type of white blood cell that play a key role in the immune system. They identify and destroy infected or cancerous cells in the body by recognising specific proteins found on the cells’ surface. Previous studies showed that T cells can recognise proteins expressed by bowel cancer cells. We have also completed a small clinical trial which demonstrated how using the drug, cyclophosphamide at a low dose can kick-start the T cell response to cancer cells, prolonging the survival of patients with very advanced bowel cancer. At this low dose, cyclophosphamide was found to be very safe. Results from this work can be found here and here.

The BICCC trial aims to test whether giving a low dose of cyclophosphamide for 4 weeks to stage 2 - 4 bowel cancer patients who have completed surgery/chemotherapy can help prevent relapse. Since cyclophosphamide kick-starts T cell response to cancer cells, we believe that this response may allow some patient’s immune system to destroy any remaining bowel cancer cells. Blood samples will be taken to study these anti-cancer responses in a small group of trial participants.

For more information:

Visit https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12508004

Contact us on BICCC@cardiff.ac.uk

        Funded By Cancer Research Wales

        Run By Swansea Trials Unit 

        Trial Manager - Dr Sope Wolffs