LI Hospital Approved For Clinical Cancer Trials

OCEANSIDE, NY — Mount Sinai South Nassau has received approval for patients to participate in breast and lung cancer clinical trials.

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

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

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.

"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, 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 the effectiveness of using cancer immunotherapy Keytruda in the treatment of patients with recurrent stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.

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. To get enrollment information for these trials, call 516-632-3312.