Features, mechanisms and measurements as a key to effective therapeutics
While improved oncological treatments have increased cancer survival and cure rates, many commonly used chemotherapies are neurotoxic and can cause chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).
Severe pain and reduced function has a major impact, such that some people rate their quality of life as “worse than death.†Unfortunately, our current understanding of who is at most risk of developing CIPN is limited. Severe CIPN during chemotherapy may require dose reduction or even cessation, which impacts survival rates. There are no currently proven preventive treatments for CIPN; for established CIPN, current treatments have variable and often limited efficacy, with many unacceptable side effects.
This webinar will feature scientific thought leaders who will discuss the epidemiology of CIPN and current approaches to assessing and diagnosing this condition, along with clinical trial design features. We will highlight the complexity of CIPN assessment and limitations of current assessment methods. All of the currently proposed methods (Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM), physician-based assessment, and instrumental evaluation) have limitations. A combination of these methods might be the best approach; however, there’s no general consensus at this time.
Our speakers will also discuss the possible use of soluble biomarkers during the course of CIPN in order to better stratify patient selection endpoints in CIPN clinical trials. Using the measurement of neurofilament light level as a biomarker currently shows promise.
Join this groundbreaking webinar to gain a more thorough understanding of CIPN. These include current challenges when it comes to assessment and diagnosis, as well as how to use soluble biomarkers to better understand why this chronic nerve damage is occurring.
Presented by
Professor Lesley A. Colvin, MBChB, BSc (Hon), PhD, FRCA, FFPMRCA, FRCP (Edin),
Chair in Pain Medicine, Division of Population Health and Genomics, University of Dundee
From 2000 to 2018, Lesley was a full-time pain specialist with the Lothian Chronic Pain Service and remains an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh. In May 2018, she took up a new post as Chair of Pain Medicine, University of Dundee, and is an Honorary Consultant in Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, NHS Tayside. She has a particular interest in translational pain research: “Bench to bus–stopâ€: aiming to bring together basic scientists, clinicians, and population health scientists to address research gaps and improve pain management. Dr. Colvin is currently researching how improved understanding of pain mechanisms and patient response to treatment can help move towards delivery of evidence based, individualized pain management.
Current research interests of Dr. Colvin include pain assessment and vulnerability to chronic pain; chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN); cancer-related bone pain, and opioid use in chronic pain.
Professor Guido Cavaletti, MD,
Senior Consultant Neurologist and Head of the Neuroimmunology Center, S. Gerardo Hospital, Monza (Italy)
Dr. Cavaletti has twenty-five years of specific expertise in the pre-clinical assessment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN). Most of the original experimental models of CIPN, now widely used worldwide, were established in his laboratory in rats and mice. These models have been characterized using pathological, neurophysiologic and behavioral tests.
Since 1990, Dr. Cavaletti has been the Senior Consultant Neurologist at the Dept. of Neurology, S. Gerardo Hospital, where he coordinates the clinical evaluation of CIPN. In 2007, Dr. Cavaletti was appointed as Head of the Experimental Neurology Unit (ENU), a research enterprise implemented at the University of Milano-Bicocca School of Medicine and Surgery.
Dr. Cavaletti has authored more than 290 papers in peer-reviewed international journals and he is a frequent lecturer/panelist.
Marco Calabresi, MD, PhD,
Medical Director Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Women’s Health - Covance Global Clinical Development
Marco Calabresi is a Medical Director in the Neuroscience Medical and Scientific Services at Covance. He joined Covance in January 2016. In the role of Medical Director Marco provides medical and scientific expertise in Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and rare diseases to project teams. He has overall accountability and responsibility for medical and safety related aspects of clinical studies, presents medical and scientific capabilities to clients and serves as subject
matter expert for other divisions of LabCorp, and various departments within Covance.