Hamilton has been chosen as one of only four centres in the world to hold a special phase-one trial for a new and potentially ground-breaking cancer drug.
The trial, to begin at Waikato Hospital's oncology department at the end of this month, will be matched by trials in Auckland and two medical centres in the US.
For the past decade, the oncology department at Waikato Hospital has undertaken at least six phase-one cancer-drug trials, following the appointment of Dr Michael Jameson as its principal medical specialist.
The latest trial will start testing the effectiveness of the new drug PR610, developed at the Auckland Cancer Research Centre at Auckland University. It is the latest in an ongoing series of possible cancer-fighting drugs produced at the centre over the past two decades.
Dr Jameson said PR610 was developed by chemist Jeff Smaill and biologist Adam Paterson.
"It looks like it may be better than any other cancer drug on the market," he says.
"It works by physiologically targeting areas in the cancer cells, and is switched on only in tumours. It is a better type of treatment with less side-effects - it's a very clever drug designed by brilliant people."
Dr Jameson says about 60 patients will be involved in the four parallel trials, including about a dozen in Hamilton.
"We have plenty of clients," he says.
But he also says the trial "is real guinea-pig stuff, and not for the faint-hearted. The risks are unknown, although we expect it to be a relatively gentle drug."
A group of three patients will begin the trial by taking a mild dose weekly. In several weeks, the next group of three will be given slightly larger doses, and more patients will be subjected to escalating doses as the trial proceeds, until a likely optimum safe level of dose is reached.
They will be treated as outpatients at the day-stay ward of the hospital's oncology department, under the control of research nurse and physical trial co-ordinator Anne Liggins, and a team of six oncology nurses.
"We will be administering the treatment and monitoring the patients during the trial," she says.
"The minimum age for patients is 18, and they must be reasonably active and well."
Dr Jameson says most people with cancer won't be eligible for the trial.
"Most patients who try the new PR160 drug won't benefit from it. We are not offering the hope for a cancer cure. If we get even 30 per cent of patients who get tumour shrinkage we will be very excited.
"We're aiming for very modest benefits only."
Dr Jameson says that at some time in the next several years, phase two, and phase three of the trial will be carried out.
"Phase one is to determine what the best dosage is; phase two will involve expanded testing on how well PR160 works; and phase three will be a comparison of PR160 with other cancer drugs."
The trials could be completed within six years.