Clinical
A person diagnosed with cancer has a lot of difficult decisions to make. Participating in a clinical trial is one of them.
Clinical trials are scientific research studies that involve people designed to find better ways to prevent, diagnose or treat a disease. Clinical trials come after a long, careful research process. Patients who participate in a clinical trial receive drugs or procedures That already have been researched in successful laboratory and/or animal studies. Doctors use clinical trials to learn whether a new treatment is safe and effective in patients. Such studies are vital to the development of new treatments for diseases such as cancer.
The doctors in charge of a clinical trial don’t know ahead of time how things will turn out. If they did, there would be no need for the study in the first place. Because of this, there’s no simple answer to the question, “Should I take part?” There is no right or wrong choice when it comes time to decide on taking part in a clinical trial. The decision is a very personal one and depends on many factors, including the benefits and risks of the study, what the person hopes to achieve by taking part, and other preferences. I recommend all my patients to take part in a clinical trial if they are eligible for one. Why? Because I believe there are many advantages in participating in a clinical trial, although I don’t forget the risks.
Let’s see what are the advantages and the risks so you can decide for yourself if you want to take part in a clinical trial.
Advantages:
• You may have more treatment options.
• If the new drug or treatment works, you may be among the first to benefit.
• You may be able to help future cancer patients.
• The trial sponsor may pay for some of your medical care or tests. (Ask your doctor or the research nurse about who is responsible for these costs before agreeing to participate.)
• Cancer patients in a clinical trial always receive the best standard treatment available or a new treatment that researchers believe is as good or better.
Risks:
• Side effects may be worse than standard treatment
• Side effects may occur that the doctor does not expect
• New treatments do not always turn out to be better than, or as good as, standard treatment
• The new treatment may not work for you even if it works for other patients
• Your health insurance company may not pay for your clinical trial care or tests. (Ask your doctor or the research nurse about who is responsible for these costs before agreeing to participate.)
Each clinical trial has eligibility criteria, which are requirements that patients must meet before they can participate. Eligibility criteria might include information about:
• Age and sex
• Type of cancer
• Stage (extent) of the cancer
• Previous treatments that you must, or must not, have had
• Length of time since you last received treatment
• Results of certain laboratory tests
• Medicines that you are taking
• Other medical conditions
• Previous history of any other cancer
• Other conditions that are specific to each clinical trial
Nobody can decide for you, but if you want one piece of advice, I will have to tell you: look for a clinical trial for your type of cancer and, if you are eligible, take part in it, because you may be the first person to benefit from the treatment that will get Nobel Prize for curing cancer.
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