3 Key Insights for Patients Considering Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are carefully planned tests that gauge the safety, effectiveness, and benefits of potential new treatments administered under the supervision of a medical professional.

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Researchers formulate cancer clinical trials with the objective of exploring innovative strategies for:

1.?????? Treating cancer.

2.?????? Detecting and diagnosing cancer.

3.?????? Preventing cancer.

4.?????? Effectively managing both cancer symptoms and the adverse effects resulting from its treatment.

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“In this era of personalized medicine, clinical trials hold great promise for patients with cancer by providing tailored treatments that are more effective, reducing side effects, contributing to medical research, and offering hope for those facing challenging cancer diagnoses,” says Vivek Subbiah, MD , Chief of Early-Phase Drug Development for Sarah Cannon Research Institute.

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Here are 3 things that patients should know about treatment clinical trials:

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The Phases

Clinical trials involve several phases of a potential new treatment’s development, including Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, and Phase IV.

·?????? Phase I: Testing the safety of a new treatment, and learning about early signals of effectiveness.

·?????? Phase II: Testing the effectiveness of a treatment, often in a specific setting of cancer (newly diagnosed breast cancer, for example).

·?????? Phase III: Comparing the new treatment to the current standard of care (these are often randomized and blinded studies).

·?????? Phase IV: Following the therapy after it is licensed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to track its safety and gain more information about its risks, benefits, and optimal use.

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Why Patients Should Consider Enrolling in a Clinical Trial

Being in a clinical trial gives patients the opportunity to receive therapy that may be more effective or better tolerated than therapies that are currently available.

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Another benefit to enrolling in a clinical trial is that it gives the patient the opportunity to help future generations of people facing the disease. Every treatment and drug that is currently used had its beginnings in a clinical trial, with patients who were willing to help science find new and better ways to treat their disease.

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Patients are closely monitored while being on a clinical trial, which may give them security knowing that their symptoms are being thoroughly observed by experts in the field. Participation on a clinical trial also allows patients to develop relationships with the research team who can help guide their treatment, answer their questions, and make sure they are involved in their care.

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What Patients Should Expect on a Clinical Trial

There is a lot that happens during the trial process, but patients should know that their physician and trial specialist will be in constant contact to walk them through before, during, and after their treatment so that they fully understand what is happening throughout their therapy.

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Patients will meet with a wide array of clinical professionals who will monitor their progress throughout the trial. This may include blood work, performing electrocardiograms, as well as administering both oral and IV drugs, as needed.

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When patients come in for routine treatment, they will meet with their physician and trial specialist to gather any side effects and review symptoms that they may be experiencing, report any medications that they have taken and when they have taken them, and even fill out things like Quality of Life Questionnaires, which simply asks about lifestyle changes while on treatment.

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The patient’s physician will treat their specific disease throughout the entire process, and if there is a point where it no longer makes sense to continue the treatment, the physician will stop and begin to use different therapies.

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Clinical trials are completely voluntary. Patients can withdraw at any point and it will not have any effect on their medical care. If they do decide to withdraw from a clinical trial, the care team will ensure that they are receiving medical care and will pursue other options.

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Clinical trials are a crucial component to developing new therapies both to benefit our current patients as well as our patients in the future, and allow us to take the next step in the fight against cancer.

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#ClinicalTrials #Research #Oncology #ScientificAdvancements #CancerClinicalTrials

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