King Edward Medical University

Internationally known clinical and translational researcher also co-leads the GI oncology team DETROIT, May 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute welcomes Wasif Saif, M.D., MBBS, as the new leader of the Phase 1 Clinical Trials Multidisciplinary Team and co-leader of the Gastrointestinal (GI) and Neuroendocrine Oncology Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). Dr. Saif is a world-renowned hematologist and oncologist specializing in GI cancers, experimental therapeutics and pharmacogenetics. He joined Karmanos on March 1, 2024. Continue Reading Wasif Saif, M.D., MBBS, has joined the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute as the new leader of the Phase 1 Clinical Trials Multidisciplinary Team and co-leader of the Gastrointestinal and Neuroendocrine Oncology Multidisciplinary Team "Karmanos Cancer Institute is a trailblazer in cancer research and has been a major contributor to significant strides in new drug and therapy development," said Dr. Saif. "I am most excited about continuing translational research at this NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with access to a diverse cancer population. This cancer center's rich data from clinical trials, studies, and investigations largely shapes the understanding of cancer and treatment for multiple populations. The avenues the physicians, scientists, and researchers have open to them are endless, and I am honored to be part of this significant work in Detroit." Dr. Saif has an extensive background in translational research and developing and managing clinical trials. As the Phase 1 Clinical Trials MDT leader, he will lead a team of physician co-investigators, non-physician providers, clinical personnel, and Clinical Trials Office staff to oversee Phase 1 solid tumor investigations. Karmanos' Phase 1 team oversees over 70 clinical trials at various stages of the protocol lifecycle. Members of this MDT include medical oncologists specializing in many different cancers, who research, study, and develop therapies, bringing them from lab to bedside. Having a Phase 1 team in Detroit gives cancer patients access to promising new treatments not offered elsewhere. Dr. Saif will also work alongside Najeeb Al Hallak, M.D., MS, medical oncologist, in leading the GI and Neuroendocrine Oncology MDT, a team made up of cardiothoracic surgeons, endocrinologists, gastroenterologists, hematologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, radiation oncologists, and surgical oncologists that dedicate their research and treatment to GI and neuroendocrine cancers. He specializes in treating anal, biliary, colon, carcinoid, esophagus, GIST, liver, pancreas, rectum, and stomach cancers. His research interests include anticancer drug development with an emphasis on analysis of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, biomarker discovery, pharmacogenetics, epidemiology and disparity studies in GI cancers, and developing complementary and alternative medicines to treat cancer. "Dr. Saif's philosophy and leadership in novel therapeutics fits our vision of continuing to grow our Phase 1 Clinical Trials Program at Karmanos. His research interests in GI cancers will complement our GI team. I am confident we will see more breakthrough discoveries from these MDTs with Dr. Saif's leadership and vision," said Boris Pasche, M.D. Ph.D., FACP, president and CEO at Karmanos. In addition to his leadership roles, Dr. Saif sees patients at Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit. He is also a professor in the Department of Oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Before joining Karmanos, Dr. Saif served on the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, Columbia University in New York City, and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. He has served as the leader of the GI oncology division at Yale, Columbia, and Tufts and as the program leader in experimental therapeutics at Tufts. He has also served in executive roles at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York and Orlando Health. Dr. Saif is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), Carcinoid Foundation, and American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). He has served as the principal investigator on over 75 clinical trials and has published over 650 scientific papers in addition to textbook chapters, abstracts, and proceedings of meetings. Dr. Saif earned his medical degree from King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan, and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut. He completed medical oncology and hematology fellowships at the National Cancer Institute, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, and National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. View Dr. Saif's physician profile here. To learn more about Phase 1 Clinical Trials or to request an appointment, visit karmanos.org or call 1-800-KARMANOS. About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Karmanos Cancer Institute is a leader in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion. The Karmanos vision is a world free of cancer. As part of McLaren Health Care, Karmanos is the largest provider of cancer care and research in Michigan. For more than 75 years, the administrative and research headquarters, along with the premier specialty cancer hospital, have been located in downtown Detroit. With 16 network sites, Karmanos delivers world-renowned care and access to clinical trials throughout Michigan and northern Ohio. The National Cancer Institute recognizes Karmanos as one of the best cancer centers in the nation with a comprehensive cancer center designation. Its academic partnership with the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the framework for cancer research and education – defining new standards of care and improving survivorship. For more information, call 1-800-KARMANOS (800-527-6266) or visit . Follow Karmanos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute

A daily intake of a new dietary supplement (Nasafytol®) containing an oral combination of Quercetin (65 mg), Curcumin (42 mg) and Vitamin D3 (2.2 µg) for 14 days by early-stage mild to moderately symptomatic COVID-19 outpatients, resulted in more rapid clearance of the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection, more rapid resolution of COVID-19 associated acute symptoms and more rapid improvement in the inflammatory marker CRP levels; leading to speedier recovery of the patients. BRUSSELS, Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The study which was recently published in the leading journal in its field, Frontiers in Pharmacology, was a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted at the Department of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, PK under the supervision of Dr. Amjad Khan, DPhil, M.Sc (Oxford), a Co-lead investigator of the study, and a Visiting Academic Researcher at the INEOS Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research, and Nuffield Division of Clinical and Laboratory Sciences, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK. The clinical trial compared the treatment effect of Nasafytol® as add-on to the standard of care (SOC) vs SOC alone (control group) in the early-stage mild to moderately symptomatic RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 outpatients. The standard of care included paracetamol and/or antibiotic azithromycin. Patients in the Nasafytol® group received two capsules twice a day for 14 days. Patients in both groups received the same SOC. A total of 50 randomized patients (25 in each treatment group) completed the study. Patients who received the Nasafytol® adjuvant therapy showed expedited negativization of the nasopharyngeal swab SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test at day 7, i.e; 15 (60.0%) vs 5 (20.0%) of the control group, p = 0.009. COVID-19 associated acute symptoms were more rapidly resolved in the Nasafytol® group at day 7, i.e; 15 (60.0%) vs 10 (40.0%) of the control group. Patients in the Nasafytol® group showed a significant greater fall in the serum CRP levels at day 7, i.e; from medium34.0 to 11 mg/dL as compared to the control group, i.e; from 36.0 to 22.0 mg/dL, p = 0.006. The Nasafytol® adjuvant therapy was safe and well-tolerated by all 25 patients and no treatment emergent effects, complications, side-effects, or serious adverse events were reported. Quercetin, and Curcumin, the two extensively studied natural polyphenols, reportedly possess broad-spectrum anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant pharmacological effects, and vitamin D3 is also a well-known immunomodulatory agent. The inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 viral replication and simultaneously modulation of the host hyper-inflammatory response in the early stage of COVID-19 infection is considered as crucial for the speedy recovery and prevention of progression to severe illness. Quercetin and Curcumin have previously shown inhibition of coronaviruses in in vitro assays, and more recently have shown inhibitory activities against SARS-COV-2. "The combination of Quercetin, Curcumin, and Vitamin D3 is a scientifically-backed safe adjuvant to treat COVID-19 in the early-stage; and the results shown by Nasafytol® are very encouraging and likely due to effective synergistic immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral mechanisms of Quercetin, Curcumin and Vitamin D3", said Dr. Amjad Khan. The use of immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory therapies in clinically vulnerable COVID-19 patients such as those with underlying health conditions or immunocompromised patients, may also cause immune-suppression, which can increase the risk of development of secondary bacterial or fungal infection and hence progression to severe illness. On the contrary, Quercetin, Curcumin and Vitamin D3 naturally have no immune-suppression effect. Quercetin, and Curcumin are safe agents and have received the FDA GRASS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status for human use in dietary products. In combination with routine care, the adjuvant use of Nasafytol® may help in the speedier recovery of early-stage mild-to-moderately symptomatic COVID-19 infection, facilitated by early clearance of the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection and modulation of the immune response. The study full article is available online at: doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.898062 Trial clinicaltrials.gov identification number: NCT05130671. SOURCE Dr. Amjad Khan