Featured Enrolling Studies

(Please click on each study title for further details.)

Northwestern University:

Purpose: To estimate the clinical benefit of GDC-0449 given as therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic basel cell carcinoma.
Primary enrollment criteria: Patients 18 years and older with a confirmed diagnosis of either metastatic or locally advanced basal cell carcinoma.
Duration: 24 weeks of treatment with follow up every 3 months after that point
Contact information: Brenda Bartlett, MD, b-bartlett@northwestern.edu, 312-695-0281

Purpose: Assess the safety, tolerability, toxicity, and outcomes of in situ photoimmunotherapy in stage III and IV melanoma with cutaneous metastases.
Primary enrollment criteria: Must have a metastasis of melanoma to the skin.
Duration: 7 office visits over 16 weeks, 2 follow-up phone calls, yearly skin checks.
Contact information: Stephanie St. Pierre, MD, s-stpierre@northwestern.edu, 312-695-6786

Purpose: PSOLAR is a registry study which is an observational study that evaluates the status of a disease.
Primary enrollment criteria: Patients have a diagnosis of psoriasis and are candidates for, or are currently receiving, conventional systemic agents (eg, MTX, acitretin, cyclosporine or systemic PUVA) or biologic therapy for psoriasis including those with chronic severe (extensive and/or disabling) plaque psoriasis who may be treated with infliximab.
Duration: 8-10 years
Contact information: Judy Borovicka, MD, j-borovicka@northwestern.edu, 312-695-8181

Purpose: Evaluate the safety and efficacy of a topical psoriasis medication. Taclonex is already approved in the United States for adult use and this study aims to prove safety and efficacy adolescents.
Primary enrollment criteria: Age 12-17 years old; Psoriasis on the trunk or limbs covering 5-30% of the body surface area
Duration: 5 to 14 weeks depending on drug wash-out requirements
Contact information: Candrice R. Heath, MD, FAAP, candriceheath@childrensmemorial.org, 773-327-3326

Purpose: To understand why certain people with eczema get eczema herpeticum and others do not. Find the genetic markers to explain why this subgroup of eczema patients gets eczema herpeticum. Use this model to understand eczema vaccinatum reactions.
Primary enrollment criteria: 8 months – 80 years old, history of or current eczema, history of eczema herpeticum, Non-Hispanic, Caucasian or Non-Hispanic Black, Positive herpes culture/DFA/PCR OR documentation of dramatic improvement after receiving anti-viral medication.
Duration: 1 initial patient visit with yearly phone call questionnaire. Sometimes, a yearly patient visit may be requested.
Contact information: Candrice R. Heath, MD, FAAP, candriceheath@childrensmemorial.org, 773-327-3326

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see the safety and how well tolerated the study medication is in patients who have EB. The study also hopes to evaluate the effectiveness of the study medication in lesion healing.
Primary enrollment criteria: Patients must have dystrophic EB and be over the age of 18 months or have junctional EB and be over the age of 2 years. They must have at least one intact blister that has been present for 14 to 60 days before enrollment. The blister must be located on the trunk or on an arm or leg but not over a joint.
Duration: After a screening visit, treatment takes place over a 56 day period (may be shorter if blisters heal faster) with a total of 4 visits and 1 phone call. Patients will then be followed off treatment for an additional 28 days with a total of 1 visit and 1 phone call.
Contact information: Jennifer Sorrell, MD, jsorrell@childrensmemorial.org, 773-327-9642