Milestone paves the way for advancements in cancer care, innovation and patient care in San Antonio and South Texas.

UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital has enrolled and treated its first clinical trial participant in a novel cancer study, marking a pivotal moment for science and patient-centered cancer care in San Antonio and South Texas.

The hospital, which opened its doors on Dec. 10, 2024, is part of UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio, bringing a unique integration of patient care, research and education as the region’s only academic health center.

W. Allen Fink, DO, MHA

“Treating our first clinical trial participant at the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital is a defining milestone. It demonstrates that we are not only a hospital that delivers high-quality care, but one that actively advances it,” said W. Allen Fink, DO, MHA, chief medical officer of the hospital. “One important tenet of our mission is to transform healthcare through healing discovery. Enrolling and treating our first research participant represents the moment when that mission became operational within our new hospital environment. It signals to our community, our faculty and our hospital staff that this hospital is fully capable of delivering cutting-edge therapies and establishes trust that patients can receive innovative treatments close to home,” Fink said.

Collaborating with research partners to make lives better

The phase 2 (dose expansion) clinical trial is evaluating a new medication, invikafusp alfa (STAR0602), administered by intravenous infusion as a possible treatment for advanced solid tumors. STAR0602 is a class of medication that activates the immune system to stop tumor growth across a wide range of cancers. By participating in this study, patients can access promising investigational therapy while helping researchers learn how STAR0602 could benefit future cancer patients.

The study, sponsored by Marengo Therapeutics, is taking place in approximately 25 hospitals and clinics in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Locally, the study is being conducted both at the hospital and in close collaboration with UT Health San Antonio’s Mays Cancer Center, which is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in South Texas and the study’s lone site in Texas.

The goal of this study is to identify safer, more effective treatments for people with advanced cancers, ultimately improving quality of life and expanding treatment options for individuals and their families.

Virginia Kaklamani, MD

“We are assessing efficacy and toxicity of the drug,” said the study’s principal investigator, Virginia Kaklamani, MD, leader of the breast cancer program at Mays Cancer Center and professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT San Antonio. “This is the first trial of its kind in San Antonio that is designed to strengthen the immune system in a very targeted way to help it directly kill solid tumor or non-blood-based cancer cells.”

The clinical trial combines an already effective, well-known targeted therapy, called sacituzumab govitecan (SG), with the cellular therapy being studied.

Jessica Treviño Jones, MD

“Cancer patients outside of Mays Cancer Center are already being offered FDA-approved SG as an excellent option,” said Jessica Treviño Jones, MD, associate professor in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, and oncologist at Mays Cancer Center and treating physician for the trial patient. “Our goal is for STAR0602 to help a patient’s own immune cells develop memory to recognize and kill cancer cells even outside of FDA-approved drug therapy,” she said.

Treviño Jones explained that after infusion, the therapy requires up to 72 hours of inpatient monitoring of a patient’s immune response, making seamless coordination between cancer specialists and hospital teams essential.

“We are able to offer innovative therapies like STAR0602 because of the direct connection between Mays Cancer Center and the hospital, and the strength of our collaborative, multidisciplinary teams,” she said. “Our commitment to aligning with only the most promising and practice-changing therapies is reflected in STAR0602. Though this study does require a 72-hour hospital watch period, the hospital’s spacious rooms, onsite amenities and modern facilities are enjoyed by both patients and their loved ones, so they do not have to be separated.”

Advanced multidisciplinary care, close to home

Successfully delivering this clinical trial required close coordination across outpatient and inpatient care teams, research operations and clinical services. Investigational therapy was administered through the Mays Cancer Center, followed by structured monitoring and supportive care at UT Health San Antonio’s Multispecialty and Research Hospital.

Lei Zheng, MD, PhD

“Before the hospital opened, Mays Cancer Center did not have the ability to directly provide inpatient cancer care,” said Lei Zheng, MD, PhD, executive director of Mays Cancer Center. “Now, we can provide the full spectrum of cancer treatment and clinical trials, giving South Texans greater access to advanced cancer therapies.”

This integrated approach brought together oncology, nursing, pharmacy, research and hospital medicine teams to ensure seamless transitions, consistent communication and a high standard of patient-centered care.

“At UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital, science and patient care move in both directions. Our laboratory breakthroughs become tomorrow’s clinical solutions, while real-world insights from our patients inspire and shape future research,” said Therica Miller, associate vice president for clinical research administration. “This dynamic, bidirectional environment means that while patients receive compassionate care from a multidisciplinary team of medical experts, they are also at the forefront of medical innovation with access to clinical trials and advanced therapies.”

To learn more about clinical trials taking place at the Mays Cancer Center, please visit https://cancer.uthscsa.edu/clinical-trials-and-research.

To learn more about the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital, please visit https://uthealthsahospital.org/.