Clinical Trials/Research

Clinical trials are strictly controlled studies of new and upcoming therapies. Each study tries to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, diagnose or treat cancer.The Humphrey Cancer Center is on the cutting edge of offering many clinical trials to patients. Ask your doctor if any clinical trials apply to you. Following are things to know about clinical trials:

1.		In cancer research, a clinical trial is designed to show how a particular anticancer strategy, for example - an experimental drug, a gene therapy treatment, a new diagnostic test, or a possible way to prevent cancer - affects the people who receive it.
2.		The safety of study participants is always a top priority. Clinical trials must first be approved by an Institutional Review Board, which includes doctors, administrators, ethicists and members of the general public. Before a treatment can be tested, it must be shown to be safe and effective in laboratory and animal studies. Volunteers are fully informed of possible risks and sign a consent form before being accepted into a clinical trial.
3.		The trial is one of the stages of a long and careful research process. Getting promising results from testing a new drug on mice, for example, is a preliminary step to human research studies. Treatments that work well in animals do not always work well in people.
4.		People can benefit from clinical trials. In treatment trials, for example, participants receive high-quality cancer care, and will be among the first to benefit if a new approach is proven to work.
5.		Most people wonder if there are drawbacks. In reality, new treatments under study are not always better than, or even as good as, standard care. And they may have unexpected side effects. Through a process called informed consent you will learn about a study's treatments and tests, and their possible benefits and risks, before deciding whether or not to participate.
6.		Patients may or may not be eligible to participate. Each study has its own guidelines for who can participate. Generally, participants are alike in key ways, such as the type and stage of cancer, age, and other factors.
7.		In studies comparing a new treatment with a standard treatment, patients are randomly assigned to one group or the other.
8.		Where do clinical trials take place? They are underway all over the world in cancer centers, other major medical centers, community hospitals and clinics, doctors' offices and veterans' and military hospitals.
9.		Health plans and managed care providers do not always cover all patient care costs in a study. What they cover varies by plan and by study.

We are able to offer our patients participation in the clinical trails through the following programs:
Humphrey Cancer Center Research Program
Eastern Cooperative Group (ECOG)
National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Program (NSABP)
Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG)
North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG)

For more information on the Humphrey Cancer Center's Research Program, call 763-520-5155.