Piedmont Oncology, via Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, is the first site in the United States to enroll patients in the MOMENTUM-1 clinical trial, which is designed to evaluate a novel therapy for adult patients with progressive intracranial meningioma. Meningioma is a tumor of the lining of the brain or spine.
“We are proud to offer this innovative treatment to Piedmont Oncology patients,” said Walter J. "Wally" Curran, Jr., M.D., FACR, FASCO, the Whitaker Endowed Chief of Piedmont Oncology. “Piedmont cares for patients from all 50 states and the ability to offer this trial demonstrates that the quality of our system ranks among the best in the country.”
Adam Nowlan, M.D., M.P.H., of Piedmont Physicians Radiation Oncology Atlanta, is serving as the local principal investigator. Dr. Nowlan is a member of the clinical trials team at the Piedmont Brain Tumor Center.
Throughout his medical experience, Dr. Nowlan has already published several reports on the management of meningioma patients.
The study involves the use of lutetium Lu-177 dotate, a radioactive drug that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with other types of rare cancers. The trial is a partnership between the RTOG Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving outcomes for cancer patients through the conduct of practice-changing clinical trials, and Novartis, the manufacturer of lutetium Lu-177 dotate (whose commercial name is Lutathera). Dr. Curran was the founding chairman of the RTOG Foundation.
“The treatment offered in the MOMENTUM-1 trial could represent a major advance for patients with meningiomas, and we are excited to investigate this therapy for these patients,” Dr. Nowlan said.