In 2016, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) launched its first clinical trial. The Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study is designed to help doctors learn more about targeted drugs in people with later-stage cancer. 

Targeted therapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to help stop cancer from growing and spreading. However, it is different from traditional chemotherapy. Targeted drugs work by targeting specific genes or proteins. These genes and proteins are found in cancer cells or in cells related to cancer growth, like blood vessel cells.

Because targeted therapy works only when a specific gene or protein is present, the researchers involved in the TAPUR study hope to find out if drugs currently available for some cancers can also be used to treat other cancers. By treating many different people and studying many available targeted drugs, it is hoped that TAPUR can share more knowledge about these drugs with the medical community and help more patients get the treatment they need.  

In this podcast, Richard Schilsky, MD, FASCO, FACP, Chief Medical Officer of ASCO (2013–2021), and Principal Investigator for TAPUR, provides an introduction to TAPUR and why it is necessary [1:30]. He also discusses how patients and researchers can participate in the study [4:18].

This is a prerecorded audio podcast. It can be listened to online or downloaded to your computer. A transcript of this podcast is also available. For more information, visit the Cancer.Net podcast page.